Reverse mortgage endorsements tick up ahead of government shutdown

Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsements rose in September compared to the prior month, while activity in the secondary market slowed slightly during the same period. Looking ahead, however, there remains plenty of uncertainty amid the federal government shutdown. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured 2,211 HECMs in September – a 7.2% increase from 2,062 in August – according to data compiled by Reverse Market Insight. The top 10 reverse mortgage lenders maintained a 78.8% market share. Mutual of Omaha Mortgage led all lenders with 464 loans in September, capturing a 21% market share. Finance of America (FOA) followed with 411 loans (18.5%), while Longbridge Financial logged 365 loans (16.5%). The three companies accounted for about 56% of all HECM endorsements between October 2024 and September 2025, the data shows. Guild Mortgage saw the largest monthly gain, jumping from 38 endorsements in August to 69 in September, followed by South River Mortgage, which increased from 54 to 78. Regionally, the Pacific/Hawaii area topped the rankings with 556 loans in September, up from 507 in August. It was followed by the Southeast/Caribbean region (482 loans, +10%) and the Southwest (219 loans, +19.7%). The reverse mortgage industry is now challenged by a government shutdown. The FHA said it will continue to process claims but cannot endorse new HECMs until funding is restored. Lenders have said this will not affect their ability to serve borrowers. Many of them are reinforcing alternatives, including proprietary products. In a separate report released last week, New View Advisors said HECM Mortgage-Backed Securities (HMBS) issuance cooled in September, falling to $491 million — down $11 million from August’s figure of $502 million.  A total of 74 pools were issued, one fewer than in July. FOA was the top issuer in September with $151 million, a $1 million decrease from August. Longbridge followed with $114 million, up $3 million, while Mutual of Omaha posted $101 million, also up $3 million. PHH Mortgage Corp. issued $74 million, down $13 million from August. The Ginnie Mae-controlled Reverse Mortgage Funding portfolio again issued no HMBS pools, New View reported. First-participation HMBS production totaled $313 million in September, down from $322 million in August and $343 million in July. Last month’s 74 pools included 18 original pools, 55 tail pools and one mixed pool. Original pools are HMBS pools backed by first participations in previously uncertificated HECM loans, while tail HMBS issuances consist of subsequent participations. Tail issuance totaled $178 million, down from $197 million in September. Notably, 24 pools in September had aggregate pool sizes under $1 million, made possible by Ginnie Mae’s rule allowing pools as small as $250,000. These accounted for $11.1 million in unpaid principal balance (UPB) that might not otherwise have been issued. Ginnie Mae’s APM 23-11, introduced in 2023, also allows participations from the same loan to be pooled more than once in the same month. Such pools represented $64.8 million in September, including $5.3 million in first participations.