HMBS September 2019 Part II: HMBS Float Falls Again

Outstanding HMBS fell by $182 million in September, as strong payoffs outweighed a decent issuance month. Payoffs once again totaled just under $1 billion. Total outstanding HMBS fell to just over $54.1 billion.

Total HMBS float will likely fall further given current trends. HMBS issuance in the first half of 2019 was the lowest half of issuance in five years.

We predict continuing declines in Mandatory Buyouts in the foreseeable future. “Peak Buyout” was an echo of the peak issuance from 2009 through the first half of 2013. Much of this production has already been repurchased by the issuers or repaid by borrowers. From now on, billion-dollar-plus payoff months will be the exception rather than the rule. Many HECM loans continue to reach their buyout threshold, equal to 98% of their Maximum Claim Amount (“MCA”), but Peak Buyout appears to have ended.

Our friends at Recursion broke down the prepayment numbers further: the 98% MCA Mandatory Purchases accounted for $561 million, or about 59%, of the payoffs last month. This percentage represents a 21-month low and continues a gradual downward trend from the buyout peak in last year’s third quarter, which averaged over $750 million in Mandatory Purchases per month.

New View Advisors compiled this data from publicly available Ginnie Mae data as well as private sources.


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