Heartland Group’s commitment to the reverse mortgage market appears to be paying dividends, with the company reporting strong growth in its Australian reverse mortgage sales.
New Zealand financial services group Heartland got into the local reverse mortgage market in 2014, when it acquired Australian Seniors Finance. It entered the market at a time when a number of other lenders had given up on it and were getting out.
Yesterday the company reported that its Australian reverse mortgage receivables grew by $149 million to $957 million in the year to June – an 18 per cent increase.
It claims to be the leading originator in the market, with its share growing from 21 per cent to 26 per cent over the year.
Earlier in the week it announced that it has completed a reverse mortgage securitisation, adding an additional $143 million of funding.
Also yesterday, ME Bank, which is a funder and equity investor in reverse mortgage lender Household Capital, reported that Household Capital’s loan book is now around $50 million.
Household Capital launched its loan product in March last year.