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Category Archives: HECM Lenders

Dry Well – HECM Lenders Feb 2024

If there’s one thing the low volume in case numbers issued the past few months tells us, it’s that endorsements will eventually follow suit. The well (cases issued) has been getting drier, and in February HECM endorsements (water) dropped -11.8% to 1,900 loans.

All of the regions were down on the month, with Pacific/Hawaii dropping the […]

Same Old – HECM Lenders Jan 2024

HECM endorsements dropped -1.7% to 2,153 loans in January, as the new year started off with the same old drift lower for originations.

Half of the regions grew, but it had a decided bias as just 1 of the top 5 grew and it was number 5:

  • New England gained 13.6% to 117 loans, which could see […]

Thud – HECM Lenders Dec 2023

HECM endorsements dropped -3% to 2,190 loans in December, providing the resounding thud to a year those still in the industry will be happy to see the back of!

Four regions bucked the general malaise to end 2023:

  • Southeast/Caribbean rose 6.5% to 526 loans
  • New England grew for a second straight month, up 5.1% to 103 loans
  • Great Plains […]

Coasting In – HECM Lenders Nov 2023

HECM endorsements dropped -15.4% to 2,257 loans in November. We haven’t seen any case number issuance data since August, but it’s a fair bet that recent high 10 year CMT rates have significantly affected that leading indicator and behind the endorsement volume weakness.

The geographic mix was just one region away from a universal downturn:

  • New England […]

Going Sideways – HECM Lenders Oct 2023

HECM endorsements rose 2% to 2,667 loans in October, as the industry continues to feel the impact of several months of low case number issuance.

We don’t yet have September figures for case numbers issued, so the most telling indicator of future volume will have to wait for now.

The geographic mix was even more even than […]

Looking Up – HECM Lenders Sep 2023

HECM endorsements fell -12.3% to 2,614 loans in September, a result that was obviously coming based on recent case number issuance weakness.

The good news is that case number issuance jumped 18.5% in August, so there is reason for optimism looking forward.

The geographic mix looked particularly poor, as the top 7 regions all […]

Higher But – HECM Lenders Aug 2023

HECM endorsements rose 6.4% to 2,980 loans in August, another post-November high (if we exclude March’s unnaturally boosted figure from corporate actions).

We note that endorsements are higher, but case numbers issued have been falling for several months now and this is simply unsustainable. The easy bet here is that endorsements fall in […]

Sunnier Side – HECM Lenders July 2023

July HECM endorsements rose 9.4% to 2,802 loans, the highest level since November if we exclude March’s unnaturally boosted figure from corporate actions.

The geographic view reflected the bright results too, with 8 of the 10 regions showing improvement:

  • Midwest jumped 27.7% to 221 loans
  • New England rose 22.1% to 105 loans
  • Mid-Atlantic trailed just behind, […]

Coming Together – HECM Lenders June 2023

May HECM endorsements jumped 24.7% to 2,561 loans as the acquisition of AAG by FAR looks to be settling out in the volume figures. More to come on this in the second set of bullet points for today!

While the month was more of a lender story than a regional one in our opinion, it makes […]

Inching Up – HECM Lenders May 2023

May HECM endorsements inched up 4.6% to 2,053 loans as the case number increases we’ve seen year to date look to be working their way through the pipeline.

Eight of the ten regions were higher for the month, although all the biggest gains were among 3 of the 4 smallest volume regions:

  • New England rose 37.3% to […]