The initial first month cash draw for the HECM Standard far surpasses the first month cash draw for HECM Saver loans, a recent chart created by the Department of Housing and Urban Development depicts. With the saver first month draw at 46.4% of the initial principal limit and at 80.8% for Standard loans, the comparison is [...]

The following chart, originally published in Inside Mortgage Finance, charts the volume of initial loan amounts extended to HECM loan borrowers over the course of five quarters. The first quarter of 2011 saw a 4% increase over the previous quarter, while falling short of the first quarter total in 2010 by 4.7%.

Implementing Dodd-Frank is leading to a “mountain” of rules—or at least 2.6 Empire State Buildings’ worth when measured by Federal Register pages laid end to end, according to the following Wall Street Journal infographic. Turning the financial overhaul bill into law has consumed more than 3.3 million printed words, which WSJ equates with 16 copies [...]

A recent National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) survey shows the importance Americans place on staying in their homes into old age. About 80% of people—including those with and without reverse mortgages—say they would like to stay in their houses, and an even greater number of adults with living parents wish for the same long-term [...]

Despite the Federal Housing Administration’s new reverse mortgage product being relatively new, data shows that two lenders are dominating the industry in terms of HECM Saver production by a wide margin. According to data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Wells Fargo and MetLife own almost 70% of the market for the HECM [...]

New data from IBIS Software shows the dive rates took when the markets crashed in the fall of 2008. “When, and if, times return to normal, a LIBOR with a 2.50% margin will have a materially higher interest rate than the current fixed-rate HECM offerings,” said Jerry Wagner, CEO of IBIS. If the 10 year [...]