In case you missed it… here’s what happened in reverse mortgage news this week.
HUD unveils major changes to its reverse mortgage program in mortgagee letters. The Department of Housing and Urban Development posted two long-awaited mortgagee letters on Tuesday announcing changes to federal reverse mortgage program, including consolidation of the HECM Standard and Saver programs into one, among other substantial program changes.
New reverse mortgage principal limit factors announced. As part of the changes to the HECM program, HUD announced new principal limit factors that are effective October 1, 2013. The new tables reflect an approximately 8% cut in PLFs, according to industry estimates, while estimates from Ibis Software put the reduction around 15% compared to 2011 HECM Standard factors.
Home prices up double digits annually, but that trend might not last. Home prices in August were up 10.2% compared to the previous year, according to Clear Capital’s home price index, but price growth trends are likely to temper in coming months, analysts say.
HECM endorsement volume drops in August. HECM endorsements declined in August, but a few lenders were able to buck the trend and post positive growth, according to Reverse Market Insight’s latest report.
Written by Alyssa Gerace
