Record senior home equity creates opportunity for reverse mortgage brokers
The gap between the equity older homeowners have accumulated and the options available to access it is where the opportunity for brokers lies, and according to the president of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA), that gap is widening.
Steve Irwin (pictured top), president of NRMLA, said the equity figure reflects decades of disciplined homeownership converging with an urgent need for retirement financial relief.
“Older homeowners have worked diligently to establish themselves in a home, and as a part of that, they have built out this tremendous amount of equity,” Irwin told Mortgage Professional America. “And at the same time, there are challenges as far as retirees go and their finances and their ability to effectively age in place.
“People are concerned about shortfalls in their retirement financial plan and their ability to mitigate longevity risk and to absorb any unexpected shocks, whether it be home repairs, home modifications, or unexpected medical bills.”
Helping borrowers with retirement anxiety
Irwin said the reverse mortgage market has been responding directly to the specific costs squeezing fixed-income homeowners, from insurance premiums rising at alarming rates in certain markets to home repair costs and broader inflation.
