The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is looking ahead at more potential reverse mortgage activity in 2024, according to a statement from Bob Broeksmit, its president and CEO.
Speaking to HousingWire on the topic of housing affordability, Broeksmit was asked about the potential for more activity in the reverse mortgage space after the establishment of a reverse mortgage working group earlier this year, and previous expressions of interest in the space in early 2022.
“That’s been an area of increasing focus for us,” Broeksmit said this week. “We just had a gathering of the reverse mortgage group and they’re very engaged, and we think there’s a lot of good that can come from MBA being more engaged with that segment in the market.”
A long-standing discussion point for the reverse mortgage industry has been demographic trends and other data suggesting that the senior cohort will need access to additional financial resources in retirement to make ends meet in later life. Broeksmit acknowledges those dynamics.
“I think that given the demographics of this country and given the record levels of home equity, it makes perfect sense for our members to focus on that product, [and to] make it as strong and sustainable, both for lenders and servicers and of course for the homeowners and their families, as it can be,” he said.
This means that the MBA is certainly looking to do more with reverse mortgages in 2024, Broeksmit explained.
“Yes, the short answer is we will do more on that in 2024,” he explained. “And in fact, the [working] group met this week to try to focus its [priorities] list. Because what we find is if you can agree on two or three top priorities and really train your energy on them, you have a much better chance of moving the ball forward, and then [you’re able to go] back and do more once you’ve accomplished the first few things on your list.”
Refinements and new attention in the reverse mortgage space led to the working group’s development. This is according to David Coleman, president of MBA subsidiary the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) after the reverse mortgage working group was established in April.
“There is a renewed interest in the reverse mortgage space, and we are looking forward to convening industry professionals as part of MISMO’s Reverse Mortgage Development Workgroup (DWG) to collaborate on this timely topic,” Coleman told RMD in April. “Over the years, MISMO has laid a foundation that has enabled us to leverage previous progress on this issue today and accelerate advancement in the reverse lending part of the market.”
