Reverse Mortgage Volume Drops Significantly In April

May 05, 2020

Director of Events

The COVID-19 pandemic heavily affected reverse mortgage endorsement volume for April 2020, as volume dropped 45% to 1,601 loans during a month, according to Reverse Mortgage Daily. Additionally, industry advisors claim that based on data from the Department of Housing & Urban Development, some lenders posted zero closings in April.

"The decline comes at a time when many originators report borrower inquiries are up and conversations with financial planners and other referral sources are gaining momentum. The loan volume alone is not the only indicator of market health," says Reverse Market Insight co-founder and president John Lunde in his monthly endorsement report published this week. "While we’d normally be very concerned about this level of drop, we have many other reliable indicators that the reverse mortgage business is actually holding up well in the pandemic."

RMI noted that there has been an increase in retail applications for Feburary and in March, and there was a 50% increase in applications year-over-year.

Despite the lull in in April reverse mortgage volume, on yesterday's Mortgage Leadership Outlook series, Ralph Rosynek, chief information officer and senior vice president of wholesale for Moneyhouse, noted how now is a great time to look at reverse mortgages. “We’ve seen a big increase in our pipelines because of this,” Rosynek said due to the impact on retirement savings from drops in the stock market and a lack of a “rainy day plan” by many older workers in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Click here to read more about April's reverse mortgage volume.

About the author

Navi Persaud

Director of Events

Navi Persaud is Director of Events at NMP.

Link copied

Published

May 05, 2020

Analysis and Data

Jobs Report Comes In Weak After Mortgage Rates Surge

Employers added just 29,000 jobs in September, sending Treasury yields lower and offering a potential counterweight to the recent rise in mortgage rates

The September jobs report gave the mortgage market something it hasn't had much of lately: downward pressure on Treasury yields.U.S. employers added just 29,000 jobs in September, while the unemployment rate edged up to 4.2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The ...

Wholesale

The Loan Store Rebrands As Averra Financial

The wholesale lender is adopting a new identity three years after acquiring Homepoint’s wholesale business and rising to No. 4 in industry rankings

The Loan Store has a new name after a three-year expansion that transformed the once-small wholesale lender into one of the largest players in the broker channel.The Tucson, Arizona-based lender has rebranded as Averra Financial Inc., effective immediately, the company annou...

Nov

Houston, TX

More from

Analysis and Data

Jobs Report Comes In Weak After Mortgage Rates Surge

Employers added just 29,000 jobs in September, sending Treasury yields lower and offering a potential counterweight to the recent rise in mortgage rates

Analysis and Data

Oct 02, 2026

Price Cuts Hit Four-Year High As Mortgage Rates Top 7%

More than one in five listings took a price cut in September, but pending sales still posted their sharpest annual decline since March 2025

Analysis and Data

Oct 01, 2026

Serious Mortgage Delinquencies Rise 19% After Five Months Of Improvement

ICE data shows 574,000 mortgages were at least 90 days past due in August, while early-stage delinquencies remained below year-ago levels

Analysis and Data

Sep 29, 2026

Smaller Down Payments Give Buyers More Room, But Rates Limit The Savings

The typical down payment fell 9% from a year ago, while shifting market conditions are giving originators different affordability conversations across the country

Analysis and Data

Sep 25, 2026

Mortgage Rates Break 7% Just As Builders Find A Way To Move Buyers

New-home sales rose 6.4% in August as builders cut prices, offered incentives, and sold more lower-priced homes. Now mortgage rates are moving against buyers again

Analysis and Data

Sep 25, 2026

Borrowers Want Digital Closings, But Some Originators Remain Hesitant

ServiceLink finds 45% of surveyed LOs cite borrower reluctance as a barrier, even though most recent buyers say digital options would influence their choice of mortgage provider

Tech

Sep 23, 2026

Popular