Key facts
- Proprietary products made up 60% of all reverse mortgage volume in September 2026, per New View Advisors data.
- Federally insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages fell to their lowest levels in about 10 years.
- Jonathan Scarpati of Finance of America said 2027 is a pivotal moment as products move closer to forward lending.
- Scarpati said US homeowners hold roughly $35 trillion in equity, including $15 trillion among those 62 and older.
- Jim Cory of Guild Mortgage said the six largest independent mortgage banks have about 17,000 originators.
- Melissa Macerato of Longbridge Financial said she expects more hybrid reverse mortgage products with higher proceeds and flexible payments.
Reverse mortgage executives meeting in San Antonio said the business is being reshaped by private-label loans as the federally insured product shrinks. On a panel on November 10 at the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association Annual Convention & Expo, they discussed proprietary products, distribution through traditional forward lenders and a possible broader consumer marketing push.
Data compiled by New View Advisors showed proprietary products accounted for 60% of all reverse mortgage volume in September 2026, a share the panel expected to keep growing, while Home Equity Conversion Mortgages, the federally insured loans known as HECMs, have dropped to their lowest levels in about 10 years.
Melissa Macerato, president and chief commercial officer at Longbridge Financial, said private-label products had changed business for the better and that the industry would be in a very different place without them. She said she expects more hybrid products that give borrowers higher proceeds alongside mandatory but flexible payments.
Jonathan Scarpati, chief production officer at Finance of America, said the products sold 10 years ago are not the reverse mortgages sold now, pointing to his company's HomeSafe suite, which includes a second-lien option that lets borrowers tap home equity without touching a low-rate first mortgage. He said new products are meant to widen the customer base rather than replace the HECM, which he said has been the industry's cornerstone since the program was authorized in 1987. Mike Kent, senior vice president at Onity Mortgage, agreed that the HECM set the standards and regulation that cleared the way for innovation.