Below you will find the top HECM lenders in 2007.  Also be sure to check out the sample report which breaks down the top lenders even more at the bottom.

Highlights from the report:

• 8,007 HECM loans endorsed in the month of December, up slightly from last year’s 7,760, but continuing the recent downtrend in monthly endorsement volume.
• 2007 ended with 108,287 loans endorsed, up 26.5% over 2006.  Of this, the top 10 lenders accounted for 47,005 endorsements, or 43.4% of the total volume.
• Hello, Countrywide!  Countrywide showed up on the cumulative top 10 list for the first time in December.  At their current pace, we should look for them to climb into the top 5 range in 2008.
• Financial Freedom remains as solid #2 on the list, showing the largest growth in retail endorsements in the top 10, save Vertical Lend, Omni, and of course Countrywide. 
• Despite the recent decline in endorsements, we continue to see new entrants in the market.  We ended the year with 1,674 active lenders, up almost 6% from last month and over 65% from all of 2006.

As a side note, a recent press release from a major trade group stated that reverse mortgages declined over 90% in both unit and dollar volume from the 2nd half of 2006 to the first half of 2007.  In actuality, HECM endorsement unit volume increased 26% in that time frame.  We hope nobody made any decisions based on that information…

December 2007 MIC Report Sample

“Market statistics and report sample provided by Reverse Market Insight, the leading source of market intelligence in the reverse mortgage industry.  For more information about RMI and to purchase the full MIC report with additional key performance indicators and market statistics, please visit our website at www.rminsight.net“

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