The nation’s largest reverse mortgage originator nearly doubled annual volume and expects it to keep increasing.
Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corp. reported 2005 fundings of $2.9 billion, climbing from the previous year’s $1.6 billion.
The increase “indicates that in addition to closing more loans, the average home value per loan has increased as well,” the IndyMac Bank subsidiary said. Last year’s 30,991 closed loans represent a 56 percent jump over the prior year and the fifth consecutive year for a record number of reverse mortgage loan fundings and applications.
“This consistent growth, combined with a corresponding spike in interest from various financial professionals — mortgage brokers, bank reps, and financial planners — in providing these products to their customers, demonstrates that reverse mortgages are becoming a mainstream product,” Chief Executive Jim Mahoney said in the announcement.
“This increased interest from consumers and professionals alike will continue to drive the growth of the reverse mortgage industry.”
Financial Freedom, which says it is “the nation’s largest lender of reverse mortgages,” noted fundings consisted mainly of FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgages — the predominant reverse mortgage product in the marketplace, and the Financial Freedom Cash Account, which is the only jumbo reverse mortgage available, according to the announcement.
