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36 | M R EP O RT O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T THE LATEST ORIGINATION How Much Did HECM Volumes Increase in 2020? AAG led the industry in origination volume, see how other originators fared. H ome Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) en- dorsements were up 15.1% year-over-year in Decem- ber to 4,097 loans, according to new data from Reverse Market Insight. For the calendar year 2020, HECM volume recorded an annualized increase of 37.5% to 44,661 loans. Eight of the 10 regions tracked by RMI recorded strong growth during December, led by New England's 59.5% upswing to 118 loans, the Rocky Mountain region's 28.9% rise and the Northwest/ Alaska region's 18.7% increase. Only the Mid-Atlantic region registered a decline, albeit with only 11 fewer loans originated in December compared to November, while the Great Plains region was unchanged in its volume month-over-month. American Advisors Group (AAG) led the industry in origina- tion volume, with 14,434 loans originated in 2020. However, this represented a slight 1% year-over- year decline in origination volume Finance of America Reverse LLC (FAR) placed second with 4,109 loans, barely inching out third- place Reverse Mortgage Funding LLC (RMF) with 4,108 loans—both companies recorded 19% year-over- year volume gains. Looking back on 2020, RMI noted the reverse mortgage industry ended the year less than 5% changed from the monthly volume gener- ated in January. The coronavirus pandemic had its greatest impact on HECMs in April with only 1,601 loans endorsed, a staggering 59% decline, although May experienced a vibrant rebound with a 215% gain in originations from April. Separately, data compiled by New View Advisors determined that HECM-backed securities (HMBS) issuances reached $1.2 bil- lion for December and ended 2020 at $10.6 billion in total issuance. The record level for these issuances is the $10.8 billion mark set in 2018. According to additional data released by the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association, AAG maintained its top rank- ing as HMBS issuer in 2020 with $2.823 billion of issuance and a 26.5% market share. This is the second consecutive year AAG was the nation's leading HMBS issuer. FAR placed second place with $1.869 bil- lion issued and 17.55% market share, with Longbridge coming in third with $1.865 billion issued and 17.52% market share. RMF was fourth with $1.822 billion issued and a 17.1% market share, while PHH Mortgage ranked fifth for the year with $1.352 billion and a 12.7% market share. The top five issuers accounted for more than 91 of all HMBS issu- ance in 2020, with 13 HMBS issu- ers active during the past year. The City That's a Top Spot for Millennial Homebuyers This California locale was the leading metro where millennials made up the largest share of purchase requests. T he classic 1960s Dionne Warwick lyric "Do you know the way to San Jose?" took on a new resonance last year as the Bay Area metro became the nation's top destination for millennial homebuyers. According to a LendingTree survey that tracked 2020 millenni- al homebuying data from January 1 through December 15, San Jose was the leading metro where mil- lennials made up the largest share of purchase requests, with 61.79%. Boston and Denver followed at 59.09% and 59.07%, respectively, with Minneapolis (58.76%) and Buffalo (58.44%) rounding out the top five. At the other end of the spec- trums, millennials were far less prominent in Las Vegas' housing market last year, making only 42.58% of the purchase requests in the gaming mecca. Millennials were also a relatively elusive pres- ence in Tampa (44.54%), Phoenix (46.33%), Miami (47.21%), and Jacksonville (47.63%). LendingTree defined millennials as anyone born between 1981 and 1996, but the survey found a slight difference between the older and younger members of this demo- graphic regarding their home- buying destinations. Millennial homebuyers in San Francisco, San Jose, and New York City were the oldest in the study, with an average age of 32.10 years old for those three areas, while Salt Lake City, Buffalo, and Detroit attracted the youngest millennial homebuy- ers, with the average age for these three areas at 31.03 years old. Furthermore, different metro housing markets attracted millennials with different credit scores. Buyers in San Jose, San Francisco, and New York City had the highest average credit scores—the average for the three areas com- bined was 721—while buyers Memphis, Virginia Beach, and Birmingham had the lowest average credit scores at approximately 638, 639 and 640, respectively. "Millennials make up the largest group of homebuyers in the United States, surpassing members of older—and richer— generations like Generation X and baby boomers," LendingTree Chief Economist Tendayi Kapfidze observed. "And though the COVID-19 pandemic has doubt- lessly caused some millennials to put their homebuying plans on hold, many members of this generation are still looking to take advantage of near record-low mortgage rates to buy a house." "Millennials make up the largest group of homebuyers in the United States, surpassing members of older—and richer—generations like Generation X and baby boomers." —Tendayi Kapfidze, Chief Economist, LendingTree