This Week's Reverse Mortgage Rates: November 10, 2009

This week’s reverse mortgage rates are below. These rates are effective for the week beginning November 10, 2009.

APR:

HECM LIBOR 225: 2.492

HECM LIBOR 250: 2.742

HECM LIBOR 275: 2.992

HECM LIBOR 300: 3.242

Expected Rates:

HECM LIBOR 225: 5.90

HECM LIBOR 250: 6.15

HECM LIBOR 275: 6.40

HECM LIBOR 300: 6.65

The HECM LIBOR APR remained almost unchanged for the seventh consecutive week. This week, the expected rates remained nearly unchanged as well, with a one hundredth of a point decline. It is interesting to see the HECM LIBOR APR remain constant for so long, a phenomenon that has not occurred since August 2008.

New Fiscal Year Brings New Reverse Mortgage Top 10

With the 2009 fiscal year ending on September 30, this month’s HECM volume report revealed a new list of the top 10 reverse mortgage lenders, very much changed from that of last fiscal year. The list is below, compared to that of 2009 FY. However, given how close many of the lenders are to each other in terms of the number of HECMs they endorsed, it is by no means clear how the list will shake out over the next few months.

October 2009:

1. Wells Fargo

2. Bank of America

3. MetLife Bank

4. Financial Freedom Acquisition

5. One Reverse Mortgage

6. 1st AAA Reverse Mortgage

7. First Mariner Bank

8. Security One Lending

9. Harvard Home Mortgage

10. Stay in Home Mortgage

Fiscal Year 2009:

1. Wells Fargo

2. Bank of America

3. World Alliance Financial Corp

4. Financial Freedom

5. One Reverse Mortgage

6. MetLife Bank

7. Countrywide Financial

8. Generation Mortgage

9. Urban Financial Group

10. 1st AAA Reverse Mortgage

Thus, from last year’s top 10, only 6 remain in the top 10 for October. The complete list for October can be found on the HUD website. The changes will also be reflected on the Reverse Mortgage Guides website in the Lender Directory in the near future.

September Sees Large Jump in HECM Applications, As Expected

We knew that reverse mortgage applications were likely to jump to new levels in September, but we did not know how much- until now. September’s FHA Outlook report shows a 72.4% increase in HECM applications in September versus August. 19,055 HECM applications were submitted in September, versus 11,051 in August.

Therefore, while only 9,473 reverse mortgages were endorsed by the FHA in September, up from 8,933 in August, the number appears poised to climb in October and November, as those who applied before the principle limit factors fell 10% on October 1st complete their applications. It is also interesting to note that the number of purchases and refinances made up a very small percentage of the reverse mortgages endorsed, with 137 HECMs for Purchase and 790 HECM Refinances endorsed in September.

Finally, as the fiscal year ended, it is good to see that the FHA’s predictions were fairly in line with the actual results. 162,619 HECM applications were filed, as opposed to the 165,000 projected in FY 2009. Of those, 114,691 HECMs were endorsed in FY 2009. This is an increase of 2.3% from last year, though still below the projected 119,700 endorsements. Nonetheless, it appears that the reverse mortgage industry grew in FY 2009, despite the recession, and appears poised for a strong beginning to FY 2010.

This Week's Reverse Mortgage Rates: November 3, 2009

This week’s reverse mortgage rates are below. These rates are effective for the week beginning November 3, 2009.

APR:

HECM LIBOR 225: 2.494

HECM LIBOR 250: 2.744

HECM LIBOR 275: 2.994

HECM LIBOR 300: 3.244

Expected Rates:

HECM LIBOR 225: 5.91

HECM LIBOR 250: 6.16

HECM LIBOR 275: 6.41

HECM LIBOR 300: 6.66

The HECM LIBOR APR remained almost unchanged for the sixth consecutive week. However, the expected rates continued to rise. This week saw a dramatic increase by .08 for the borrowers. It will be interesting to see when the APR finally changes, and, when it does, whether the expected rates will adjust is the same direction.

Breaking News: HECM Loan Limit Extended through 2010

Yesterday, Congress passed the continuing resolution we discussed yesterday, extending the HECM loan limit through the 2010 fiscal year. The continuing resolution is now headed for the President’s signature, which it is expected to receive. The continuing resolution means that the reverse mortgage loan limit will remain at $625,500. The change reduces uncertainty about the future of the loan limits for HECM reverse mortgages. As mentioned yesterday, the continuing resolution also includes jumbo conforming loans and conforming loans, two kinds of forward mortgages.

This Week's Reverse Mortgage Rates: October 27, 2009

This week’s reverse mortgage rates are below. These rates are effective for the week beginning October 27, 2009.

APR:

HECM LIBOR 225: 2.494

HECM LIBOR 250: 2.744

HECM LIBOR 275: 2.994

HECM LIBOR 300: 3.244

Expected Rates:

HECM LIBOR 225: 5.83

HECM LIBOR 250: 6.08

HECM LIBOR 275: 6.33

HECM LIBOR 300: 6.58

The HECM LIBOR APR remained almost unchanged for the fifth consecutive week. Meanwhile, the expected rates continued to rise, though they only rose by three hundredths of a point. One wonders when the APR will finally change, and, when it does, in which direction it will go.

This Week's Reverse Mortgage Rates: October 20, 2009

This week’s reverse mortgage rates are below. These rates are effective for the week beginning October 20, 2009.

APR:

HECM LIBOR 225: 2.495

HECM LIBOR 250: 2.745

HECM LIBOR 275: 2.995

HECM LIBOR 300: 3.245

Expected Rates:

HECM LIBOR 225: 5.89

HECM LIBOR 250: 6.05

HECM LIBOR 275: 6.30

HECM LIBOR 300: 6.55

The HECM LIBOR APR remained almost unchanged for the fourth consecutive week. However, expected rates rose significantly. The expected rates are up .15 this week. One hopes this is not the beginning of an upward trend. After a short week last week, these rates will be good for a full seven days.

This Week's Reverse Mortgage Rates: October 14, 2009

This week’s reverse mortgage rates are below. These rates are effective for the week beginning October 14, 2009.

NOTE: The rates initially published on October 13th were incorrect by 1 thousandth of a point. Please consult the rates below moving forward.

APR:

HECM LIBOR 225: 2.495

HECM LIBOR 250: 2.745

HECM LIBOR 275: 2.995

HECM LIBOR 300: 3.245

Expected Rates:

HECM LIBOR 225: 5.65

HECM LIBOR 250: 5.90

HECM LIBOR 275: 6.15

HECM LIBOR 300: 6.40

The HECM LIBOR APR remained almost unchanged for the third consecutive week. The expected rate only decreased by one hundredth of a point. Due to the Columbus Day Holiday, these rates will only be in effect from October 14th to October 19th.

Reverse Mortgage Counseling Shifts to New HECM Roster

Today marks the one week anniversary of the shift to the new HECM roster. The new roster means that the new requirements for reverse mortgage counselors have gone into effect. Only counselors that have met these requirements will be permitted to provide HECM counseling. As a result, the number of agencies providing HECM counseling have, for the time being at least, decreased dramatically. Some states, such as Delaware and Hawaii, do not have any local counseling agencies that have met the new requirements and are on the HECM roster. However, since many counseling agencies provide counseling on a national level by phone, borrowers in these states are unlikely to feel any ill effects.

The list of new counselors can be found at: https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/hecm_agency_look.cfm

This Week's Reverse Mortgage Rates: October 6, 2009

This week’s reverse mortgage rates are below. These rates are effective for the week beginning October 6, 2009.

APR:

HECM LIBOR 225: 2.494

HECM LIBOR 250: 2.744

HECM LIBOR 275: 2.994

HECM LIBOR 300: 3.244

Expected Rates:

HECM LIBOR 225: 5.66

HECM LIBOR 250: 5.91

HECM LIBOR 275: 6.16

HECM LIBOR 300: 6.41

While the HECM LIBOR APR remained constant this week, the expected rate declined considerably, dropping two tenths of a point. Borrowers should see savings from such an interest rate decline, and hopefully the low rates will continue. This is the first full week that the new PLF limits will be in effect.