Proprietary reverse mortgages continue to thrive as borrowers move away from HECMs

Data released last week by New View Advisors illustrates the ongoing shift away from federally insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) and toward proprietary reverse mortgages. In the newest edition of its Proprietary Reverse Mortgage Production Index, which New View began publishing last year, the company determined that proprietary products accounted for $1.2 billion in volume during the third quarter of 2026. For the first three quarters of this year, private-label reverse mortgages totaled $3.5 billion, up 46% from an estimated $2.4 billion during the same period in 2025. Proprietary loans have grown in prominence in recent years through new offerings from leading lenders like Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, Finance of America, Longbridge Financial and South River Mortgage. New View Advisors said that these loans accounted for more than 60% of all reverse mortgage volume in September 2026 — and it expects that share to continue growing. “Rising interest rates may challenge the reverse mortgage industry in the fourth quarter, but proprietary loans could still propel reverse mortgage industry totals to over $8 billion in 2026, versus $7.3 billion in total new originations of r...