Hecm Activity Rises In March, But Proprietary Loans Are Taking A Bite Out Of Business

U.S. reverse mortgage endorsements rose sharply in March following subdued activity in February, but overall volume remains down compared with recent months, according to data released Wednesday by Reverse Market Insight (RMI).

Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsements increased 16.3% in March to 2,117 loans. Despite the monthly gain, activity remained below the levels seen in every month since August 2025.

“March bounced back from the short February, rising 16.3% to 2,117 loans, although that remains below every month since August,” RMI wrote in commentary accompanying the data. “That continues the theme of weakness in HECM endorsements we touched on last month, and we believe the more competitive and non-FHA reverse mortgage market is the primary contributor.”

The decline in HECM volume reflects ongoing competitive pressure from proprietary reverse mortgage products, which industry observers say have captured much of the growth in recent years.

“We still don’t have comprehensive data there, but what we can piece together looks like the growth in unit volume has been almost entirely in the proprietary products for several years, particularly when we exclude the HECM refinance waves from 2018-2022,” RMI explained.

Nine of the 10 regions analyzed by RMI posted monthly increases in March, with four outpacing the national growth rate.

The Rocky Mountain region led these gains, rising 33.8% to 178 loans. The Northwest/Alaska region followed with a 33.1% increase to 165 loans, while the New York/New Jersey region climbed 33% to 133 loans. The Mid-Atlantic region also saw strong growth, increasing 32.5% to 159 loans.

Among the top 10 lenders, eight recorded month-over-month increases. Goodlife Home Loans/Traditional Mortgage Acceptance Corp. posted the largest jump, surging 55.1% to 107 loans. Finance of America (FOA) increased its endorsements by 24.7% to 454 loans, while South River Mortgage saw an 18.8% gain to 82 loans.

HMBS posts modest gain

In sync with rising HECM endorsements, the issuance of HECM Mortgage-Backed Securities (HMBS) rose modestly in March, according to data compiled by New View Advisors.

HMBS issuance totaled $441 million in March, up $10 million from February’s figure of $431 million but down $46 million from $487 million in the same month last year. A total of 66 pools were issued during the month, unchanged from February.

Despite the monthly increase, March’s total ranks among the lowest levels since 2009. Only four months, including February 2026, have had weaker issuance in that time span, New View reported.

FOA was the top issuer in March with $138 million, down slightly from $140 million in February. Longbridge Financial followed with $114 million and Mutual of Omaha Mortgage issued $81 million. Onity Mortgage Corp., formerly PHH Mortgage Corp., issued $59 million, down $7 million from the prior month.

Ginnie Mae/Reverse Mortgage Funding, also known as “Issuer 42,” did not issue any HMBS pools during March.

First-participation production totaled $260 million, flat month over month but down from both January and March 2025. Through the first quarter, FAR remained the top issuer of first-participation HMBS at $255 million, followed by Longbridge, Mutual of Omaha and Onity.

Of the 66 pools issued in March, 16 were first participations and 49 were tail pools, with one mixed pool. Tail issuance — which reflects additional draws on existing loans rather than new originations — rose to $181 million, up from $169 million in February.

Smaller pools also played a notable role. Twenty pools of less than $1 million were issued, enabled by Ginnie Mae’s allowance for pools as small as $250,000, which accounted for $12.4 million in issuance that may not otherwise have reached the market. Additionally, $69.8 million in participations were pooled using a 2023 policy that permits multiple participations from the same loan within a single month.

New View Advisors also reported that FOA maintained its position as the leading HMBS issuer in the first quarter of 2026, topping both total and first-participation issuance with $433 million and $255 million, respectively.

Longbridge ranked second with $361 million in total issuance, capturing a 26% market share, and continued to gain ground in first-participation volume with $237 million. It solidified its position ahead of Mutual of Omaha and Onity, which rounded out the top four with $260 million and $218 million in total issuance, respectively.

A total of nine issuers were active during the quarter, with the top four collectively accounting for about 90% of overall HMBS issuance volume, according to data compiled by New View Advisors from Ginnie Mae and private sources.