Tally Up – HECM Originators December 2021

HECM endorsements grew 5.4% in December, led by Wholesale/broker rising 7.4% while Retail/direct managed 3.8%. The year as a whole was notable for the sustained rise in HECM to HECM refinances as increasing home prices and low interest rates fueled a surge in resetting existing loans to allow more access to cash and/or lower accrual rates for borrowers.

• Total HECM endorsements were up 19.2% over 2020
• Refis made up 45.9% of all HECM endorsements in 2021, including 50.8% in Q4, up from 35.6% in Q4 2020
• Purchase loans made up just 4.2% of endorsements

Against that backdrop it seems worth pointing out the originators that did particularly well on the year, beating each of those three metrics (higher growth, lower refis and higher purchase):

• Just 1 of the top 10 managed the feat – Mutual of Omaha Mortgage at 50.3% growth, 30.7% refis, and 12.5% purchase business!
• 2 of the next 40 also met the test: VIP Mortgage (28.4%44.7%/15.8%) and Guild (20.7%/40%/4.8%)
• 11 of the next 50 made the cut to round out the top 100: Sun West, Hometown, Nexa, 55 Places, Directors, Trebor, American Mortgage & Equity Consultants, Mortgage South of Tennessee, Top Flite, Moria Development, and HECM Senior Home Financing

Check out the final rankings for the year on pages 3 and 4 of the full report below by clicking on the image.