HECM endorsements spike in November amid shutdown backlog

Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsements saw an artificial increase in November due to the federal government shutdown, an effect that may continue into December. Meanwhile, activity in the secondary market slowed down, according to reports released this week.

In total, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured 3,905 HECMs in November — a nearly 77% increase from 2,211 in September – according to data compiled by Reverse Market Insight (RMI).

“No HECMs were endorsed in October, so November’s figures are inflated relative to a normal month due to the delays resulting from the government shutdown,” RMI said in a report released Tuesday. 

According to RMI, if the November volume is adjusted by halving it to account for two months of production — the backlog from October and the actual production in November — the total volume reflects an 11.7% decrease compared to September.

But “it’s possible there is still some endorsement backlog to come in [December] that could mean that’s a conservative interpretation,” the report states. 

Top lenders

RMI data shows that the top 10 reverse mortgage lenders increased their market share to about 80%, up from 78.8% in September. Mutual of Omaha Mortgage led the market with 896 loans in November, capturing a 22.8% market share.

Finance of America (FOA) followed with 663 loans and a 16.9% share. Recently, FOA closed a deal to acquire $9.6 billion in mortgage servicing rights from Onity Group, which will lead to Onity’s subsidiary, Liberty Reverse Mortgage, exiting the reverse mortgage origination business.

Meanwhile, Longbridge Financial logged 635 loans (16.2% market share) in November. Together, the top three companies accounted for approximately 61% of all HECM endorsements from December 2024 to November 2025.

Regionally, the Pacific/Hawaii area topped the rankings with 891 loans in November. It was followed by the Southeast/Caribbean region (807 loans) and the Southwest (395 loans).

Secondary market trends

In a separate report released Monday, New View Advisors noted that HECM Mortgage-Backed Securities (HMBS) issuance cooled in November, falling to $516 million, a decrease of $11 million from October’s figure of $527 million. A total of 62 pools were issued, which was 11 fewer than in October.

FOA was the top issuer in November with $167 million, a $3 million increase from October. Longbridge followed with $124 million, down $4 million in the same period, while Mutual of Omaha posted $94 million, a decrease of $2 million.

PHH Mortgage Corp. issued $79 million, down $8 million from October. The Ginnie Mae-controlled Reverse Mortgage Funding portfolio once again did not issue any HMBS pools, according to New View.

First-participation HMBS production totaled $333 million in November, down from $335 million in October but up from $313 million in September. Last month’s 74 pools included 19 original pools and 43 tail pools.

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 $183 million, down from $189 million in October. 

Notably, 13 pools in November had aggregate pool sizes under $1 million, made possible by Ginnie Mae’s rule allowing pools as small as $250,000. These accounted for $6.6 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 November, including $7.4 million in first participations.