Senior home equity went up by $30 billion in the fourth quarter last year, leaving senior homeowners to account for $3.22 trillion in equity, according to a recent report.
[IMAGE]The ""National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association"":http://www.nrmlaonline.org/ (NRMLA) collaborated with ""Risk Span"":http://riskspan.com/ to release the Reverse Mortgage Market Index (RMMI).
[COLUMN_BREAK]The results? The reverse mortgage market is stabilizing, according to the index, which registered 153.48 in the fourth quarter, up 0.9 percent from the third quarter.
The group attributed increases to senior housing values, which went up by 0.6 percent, alongside a dip in mortgage debt by 0.3 percent.
Senior mortgage debt also declined for the eleventh consecutive quarter to $1.01 trillion.
""Our nation's demographic and economic trends suggest that the reverse mortgage market will continue to grow,"" Peter Bell, president and CEO of NRMLA, said in a statement. ""This data further validates that reverse mortgages are a fundamental tool to help fund longevity at a time when many Americans might face limited options.""
He added that ""[m]any seniors face the possibility of losing their homes based on a shortfall in cash each month,"" calling the reverse mortgage ""a great financial solution.""
NRMLA and Risk Span have managed the index since 2000.