WASHINGTON – Housing wealth for homeowners 62 and older grew to $6.9 trillion in Q2 2018, an increase of $130 billion in senior home equity over Q1 2018, reports the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association in its quarterly release of the NRMLA/RiskSpan Reverse Mortgage Market Index.
The RMMI rose to 249.37 in Q2, another all-time high since the index was first published in 2000. The increase in senior homeowner’s wealth was mainly driven by an estimated 1.7 percent or $143 billion increase in senior home values, offset by a 0.8 percent or $12.8 billion increase of senior-held mortgage debt.
NRMLA President and CEO Peter Bell commented that the equity accumulated in a home, to many American families, represents the largest component of personal wealth.
“If you consider that the typical retiree household might have one or two incomes from Social Security, a modest pension and/or limited income from low-yielding fixed-income instruments, and, perhaps, a diminished 401(k) account, then home equity becomes their greatest asset and an important resource for funding their future,” added Bell.
