Reverse Mortgage Volume Rises

Lenders closed a record 43,131 federally insured reverse mortgage loans in the federal fiscal year ended Sept. 30, up from the previous year's record of 37,829, according to the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association.It was the fifth consecutive year of record originations for such mortgages, NRMLA reported. The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, which is insured by the Federal Housing Administration, accounts for about 90% of all reverse mortgage loans made in the United States. According to NRMLA, the top market for HECM production in fiscal 2005 was Los Angeles, where 3,915 loans were closed -- followed by Santa Ana, Calif., 3,067; Sacramento, Calif., 2,161; San Francisco, 2,040; and Denver, 1,515. The association said volume growth could have been much higher were it not for the fact that there are significant delays in some parts of the country in scheduling mandatory counseling. "Put simply, there aren't enough counselors to handle the high volume of requests," said Peter Bell, president of NRMLA. The association can be found online at http://www.reversemortgage.org.