Look out below! We’ve been talking about the end of the first real refi boom in HECMs for months now and the proof is finally here. HECM endorsements sank -43.5% in September, the lowest total in 2.5 years.
The expectation is that refinances have dropped dramatically in September, but any significant weakness beyond that could mean the industry is struggling for traction in positioning reverse alongside HELOCs and HE loans in inflation/housing/interest rate conditions that should be very conducive to new business.
All 10 regions were down, so let’s just take it directly and talk about the worst performers instead of highlighting the least bad:
- Northwest/Alaska dropped -55% to 294 loans
- Pacific/Hawaii lost -50.3% to finish with 1,007 loans
- Midwest shrank -47.1% to 153 loans
The top 10 lenders also posted a universal decline:
- Mutual of Omaha dropped the least, losing just -7.3% on the month to 467 loans
- Open Mortgage was the only other top 10 lender to decline less than 20%, shrinking -18.5% to 132 loans
Click the image below for the full report.
