Home equity loans

Lenders reported July declines of HECM endorsements and new securities issuances, but proprietary lending drove a 28% year-over-year surge in originations.

So far this year, the volume of closed-end second and home equity line of credit securitizations is near last year's $29 billion, Bank of America Securities said.

The "stay-put" economy, along with higher mortgage rates, is responsible for this shift where home equity and seconds have a 17.5% market share, Benutech found.

Equity levels grew to start 2026 after pulling back to end last year, as older homeowners increasingly say they prefer to remain in place rather than downsize.

The fintech's Figure Connect private credit loan exchange has grown to account for 56% of total consumer marketplace activity in early 2026.

The HomeSafe Second product is now available in more than one third of all states, according to the reverse mortgage specialist.

Issuances of new HECM-backed securities dropped off in June on both a monthly and yearly basis, according to a new report from New View Advisors.

Homeowners accuse the home equity investment company of breaking the law for suggesting that its home equity investment product isn't a mortgage.

Mortgage fintechs are attracting investor attention and dollars with agentic AI processes in new origination-focused platforms and assistants.

In addition expanding the types of loans eligible for the reverse product, the policy creates a flexible borrower counseling timeline to facilitate lending.

The share of seriously underwater homeowners also grew in 45 states compared to a year ago, with the South Central region most affected, according to Attom.

"In looking at eight currently available proprietary RM products, there is a distinct relationship between HECM growth rates and proprietary product availability," Reverse Market Insight said.

The new law adds rules, including counseling requirements, which would put severe constraints on originations of HEIs, an industry representative said.

More than 21% of reverse mortgage clients entered counseling with a deficit in their monthly budget last year, almost double the 12.2% of clients in 2024.

About 43% of Americans upgraded their homes last year, and 33% plan to remodel in the next year, according to a recent survey from Redfin.

A Colorado couple filed suit after realizing they might owe as much as $279,000 on a home equity investment contract used to obtain $88,000 in 2018.

The product preserves borrower's first mortgage, and its potentially lower mortgage rate, without requiring the new monthly payments of a traditional HELOC, FOA says.

HECM endorsements rose 16% in March to 2,117 loans, but monthly volumes remain near their slowest pace since last summer as proprietary reverse products quietly steal market share.