Retirees, not refis: FOA’s 24% growth maps the next market

• Expert Quote: “Higher rates affect borrower proceeds, but they do not eliminate our customers’ need for financial flexibility in retirement.” — Kristen Sieffert, President, Finance of America
• Supporting Data: Finance of America increased its funded volume by 24% year over year in the third quarter.
  Overview bullets generated by AI with editorial review.   

Reverse mortgage lender Finance of America continues to see its funded volume increase, signaling demand for home equity solutions remains strong in a high-rate environment.

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Volume totaled $748 million in the third quarter, up 24% year over year and 2% from the second quarter, according to FOA’s latest earnings release. Since CEO Graham Fleming and President Kristen Sieffert assumed their roles in 2023, the lender has expanded volumes by 20% on average each year, Fleming said on an earnings call Tuesday.

The company’s forward outlook points to more originations, even as the rest of the mortgage industry reaches a projected downturn. The Mortgage Bankers Association forecasted the forward market to shrink 5% against FOA’s double-digit growth.

“The difference is demand,” Sieffert said on the call. “Ours is driven by retirement need, not refinancing incentives. Higher rates affect borrower proceeds, but they do not eliminate our customers’ need for financial flexibility in retirement.”

Sieffert credited the lender’s success to its broad product suite, which features home equity conversion mortgages, its HomeSafe first lien reverse mortgage and second lien reverse mortgage. All three products posted volume increases of 14%, 15% and 63% year over year.

FOA also announced the line of credit version of HomeSafe Second will launch soon. The company plans to expand the suite further next year as it moves from a top reverse mortgage lender to a leader in home equity solutions for retirement as a whole, Sieffert said. 

“Each of our products serves a different homeowner need, and together, they give us multiple paths to growth even when pricing pressure affects individual products,” she said.

Multiple other companies have launched home equity products this year to try to capture some of this demand. Rocket Mortgage has updated its offerings over the past few years, and said on an earnings call last week its recapture efforts have benefitted the lender’s home equity business.

FOA’s revenue troubles

Despite the increased funded volume, FOA posted negative $58 million in total revenue, its first quarter in the red in nearly two years. The lender’s net income also dropped to -$110 million from -$29 million in the second quarter of this year and third quarter of 2025, according to the release.

On an adjusted basis, FOA totaled a net income of $6 million, or $0.28 per share, still well below the S&P Capital IQ Pro consensus estimate of $1.26 per share.

The lender blamed the poor financial showing on lower revenue margins in its retirement solutions segment, which were impacted by the increase in benchmark rates during the quarter. 

“We consider these as temporary in nature, not because we anticipate the rate environment to move in our favour, but because of the nature of our platform,” Matt Engel, chief financial officer, said on the call.