Reverse mortgage endorsements rose 9.9% to 3,197 loans from July to August, according to the latest data from analytics firm Reverse Market Insight.
The slight uptick marks the second month of consecutive growth the for industry since the 10-2 changes issued last fall.
While the increase is promising, the endorsement total is still the third lowest number in the past year.
RMI found some other bright spots in the data. All 10 regions were up, it pointed out, with the Mid Atlantic in the lead with a 28.2% increase
Six of the top 10 HECM lenders saw their volume pick up last month. The most notable jumps were seen by Live Well Financial (29.8%), Finance of America Reverse (23.7%) and One Reverse Mortgage (22.2%).
American Advisors Group continues to lead the pack, totaling 839 endorsements for August, beating FAR’s 324 loans by a long shot.
RMI President John Lunde said that the fact that endorsements have increased for the second consecutive month may be a sign that the worst over
“We may take a long time to recover and there will surely be bumps in the road, but at least the immediate negative impacts have ended,” Lunde told HousingWire.
“Now, the focus is on how much volume HECM can do and how much volume proprietary products can do to supplement total industry volume and revenue levels," he added.
