Mortgages

Foreclosure starts also increased by over 19% between October and November but remain below pre-pandemic levels.

The partnership will expand UHM reach to new markets in Florida, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina and California.

Loans with payments late by a year or more were the biggest sub-category within the distressed portfolios a year ago, but now mortgages that've been late for 30-59 days are.

But the lower rates of the past month did result in a $7-billion boost to its origination forecast for 2022.

The uptick in the 60-day-plus metric could reverse the bulk of the decline that occurred between 2019 and 2021.

The Lansing, Michigan-based firm was awarded the contract this spring and takes over from Novad Management Consulting, which had previously serviced government-held HECMs since 2014.

Borrowers gained an average of $34,300 in home equity since the third quarter of last year, but that's almost half the amount of growth recorded over the summer.

The products are currently limited to a single distribution channel, but the company hasn't ruled out offering them through third-party originators in the future.

The deal will close for $10 million in cash, plus the right to purchase nearly 33.9 million shares of common stock.

Deterioration in credit quality should put strain on collateral originated in late 2021 and early 2022, affecting performance, Barclays Credit Research said.