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Article: Reverse Mortgages? Fast Forward: Long maligned, reverse mortgages are gaining popularity as a product than can help older Americans deal with a sinking stock market and take advantage of real estate markets that remain hot.
- Article from:
- US Banker
- Article date:
- February 1, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 SourceMedia, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A once obscure mortgage product known as the reverse mortgage is now gathering momentum, and may emerge as an important offering for banks over the next several years. It's geared exclusively toward senior citizens, a group that will grow to 20 percent of the population by 2030.
According to an industry trade group, the 12 months ending September 30 saw a 68 percent increase in reverse mortgage closing compared to the year before, for a nationwide total of 13,049. While the real numbers are still small compared to conventional mortgages, the growth rate of reverse mortgages far outstrips the single digit growth rate of standard mortgages. Indeed, in the first ...