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 [...]

Reverse mortgage counseling remains steady, indicates data from Ibis Software Corporation, released in February. The data, which tracks monthly RMA counseling, applications and endorsements (see chart) shows the number of people receiving counseling using Ibis’s software has leveled above 10,000 per month, with an average of roughly 11,500 over the past six months. “In counseling, [...]

Released earlier this week, Presdient Obama’s budget projects a $1.65 trillion deficit this year and includes $1.1 trillion in deficit-reduction measures over the next 10 years, with two-thirds of those savings coming from spending cuts and one-third from tax increases. While the budget shows the HECM program no longer requires a subsidy from Congress, it also projects [...]

A new chart from Reverse Market Insight shows that single male borrowers exhibit consistently higher usage of reverse mortgages compared to females or multiple borrowers. According to RMI, the amount of cash borrowers draw at closing and over the life of the loan has become increasingly important given the reliance on HECM MBS securitization.  ”Utilization [...]

When it comes to reverse mortgages, loan age isn’t as important as borrower age as far as being a strong driver of prepayment rates.  As borrowers get older, the odds of the loan prepaying continues to increase. According New View Advisors, data shows that for seasoned HECM loans, 64 year-old borrowers have prepaid at a [...]