At this week’s National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) Annual Convention & Expo in San Antonio, executives offered their thoughts on the evolving product landscape and efforts to expand the sales force while cautioning that hurdles around consumer misperceptions remain.
In a panel discussion held Tuesday and moderated by former NRMLA board member and current Texas Mortgage Bankers Association CEO Scott Norman , executives covered a wide range of topics including proprietary reverse mortgages , distribution efforts with traditional forward lenders and the potential for a broad marketing push to consumers.
“I think one of the things that’s held us back is our lack of distribution,” said Jim Cory , managing director of Guild Mortgage ‘s reverse division. “It’s such a sea change in our business to suddenly have to go from this beloved group that we have here and begin adding to it. And literally thousands of loan originators now have access to this product.”
At a time when federally insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) have dropped to their lowest levels in about 10 years , private-label loans have stepped up to fill the void. Data compiled by New View Advisors showed that proprietary products accounted for 60% of all reverse mortgage volume in September 2026 — a share that is expected to continue growing.
Melissa Macerato , the newly appointed president and chief commercial officer at Longbridge Financial , said that these products have changed business for the better and that the industry would “be in a very different place” without them. Longbridge has been among the lenders to introduce private-label solutions in recent years through its Platinum suite and HELOC for Seniors .
Macerato said she expects to see more hybrid reverse mortgage products developed soon, with a focus on giving borrowers higher proceeds alongside mandatory but flexible payments.
“In order to get that broader distribution, in order to have more exposure for our products, we’re going to have to start speaking the language and developing products that more mainstream mortgage entities and loan officers really understand,” she said.
Jonathan Scarpati , chief production officer at Finance of America , told NRMLA attendees that the products “from 10 years ago are not reverse mortgages that everyone is selling today.” His company has also been at the forefront of product innovation with its HomeSafe suite — including a second-lien option that allows borrowers to tap into their home equity without touching their low-rate first mortgage.
But Scarpati believes that new products are meant to “cast a wider net” rather than replace the traditional HECM that’s been the industry’s cornerstone since the program was authorized in 1987. Mike Kent , senior vice president of corporate development and industry relations at Onity Mortgage , agreed.
“The reason we have proprietary products is that [the HECM] set the baseline, it set the standards, it ushered in the appropriate regulation and safeguards for the product, and it kind of cleared the way for us to begin to innovate,” Kent said.
Scarpati also pushed back against the notion that more competition in reverse mortgages is a bad thing.
“I think 2027 is a very pivotal moment for the industry in general,” he said. “I think as the products continue to evolve, some of them are looking closer to the forward industry. … The closer we have our products look to what the forward industry is used to, the more growth and the more adoption we’re going to get.”
Cory said that lack of distribution has been a longstanding obstacle for the industry. But many of the large independent mortgage banks ( IMBs ) — including Guild, Rate , Fairway Home Mortgage and CrossCountry Mortgage — now have a visible presence in the space. According to Cory, the six largest IMBs have about 17,000 originators today, and business would expand significantly if this group alone put more resources into reverse.
Jesse Allen , president of the 55+ lending division at Rate, said that while the largest IMBs have reverse mortgage options to offer borrowers, the ongoing hurdle is to get more engagement from loan officers. That work falls to reverse specialists, who must do a better job of sharing their knowledge and building relationships.
“If you want other people to trust you, you have to really know your craft,” Allen said. “Language matters. And so, as a reverse industry, I would encourage all of you to think about the language you use when you walk in with a traditional mortgage loan officer and a real estate agent. Use language that feels familiar to them and that will start to build trust.”
Some companies are introducing technology solutions to engage LOs who are unfamiliar with reverse products.
Earlier this month, Nationwide Equities Corp. launched ReverseReach , a tool to help uncover reverse mortgage opportunities in existing customer databases and referral networks. And in July, Reverse Market Insight expanded its loan qualification tool to include Smartfi Home Loans ‘ proprietary products, part of Smartfi’s push to get more traditional LOs involved.
Scarpati said many lenders are looking for new opportunities as traditional purchase and refinance is expected to decline in 2027 . Home equity lending, including reverse mortgages, presents a massive opportunity as U.S. homeowners hold roughly $35 trillion in equity , including $15 trillion among those 62 and older.
Lenders that don’t diversify beyond traditional products may find tough sledding if liquidity issues and consolidation continue over the next 12 to 18 months, he added.
“Originators are starving to find new opportunities to continue to succeed in mortgages in general. I think it just makes so much sense for a forward originator to start looking back at their client base,” Scarpati said. “We just have to continue to double down on education and technology to sort of help bridge that gap and make it easier for them to originate our loans.”
Audience member Melinda Hipp, a San Antonio-based Certified Reverse Mortgage Professional at Reverse Mortgage Authority , relayed some relevant information to the panelists on stage.
She said she recently recorded seven hours of conversations at two senior expos near San Antonio. People who passed by her booth frequently said they have no need for a reverse mortgage because their home is paid off, or that they “would never do that.” These comments feed into the laundry list of misunderstandings about the products.
While reverse mortgages often serve needs-based clients who want to access their home equity for repairs, healthcare expenses and other costs of living, their use cases also involve affluent clients who want better retirement tax strategies and cash-flow solutions.
The industry also continues to push for greater awareness of reverse for purchase transactions , which give seniors with large amounts of home equity a path to buy their next home without the burden of a monthly payment.
Hipp also suggested that the industry might look to do a broader advertising push, a reference to past efforts through celebrity spokespeople like Tom Selleck , Robert Wagner and others.
Allen offered his thoughts, saying that “marketing and messaging” is one of the industry’s “three big rocks” alongside product development and distribution. He said that any efforts through digital media or social media need to be different than what was done 10 years ago, since the addressable market has changed significantly.
“What’s the saying? ‘Many hands make light work.’ Well, many hands and it still won’t be light work,” Allen remarked. “We have to really figure out how to speak in a different way to the marketplace. … I think it has to be at an enterprise or an institutional level.”