Reverse Mortgage Professionals Mostly Optimistic for 2020

Feb 10, 2020

Lenders within the reverse mortgage industry have a good feeling on the state of their industry this year, according to a new survey conducted by the trade publication Reverse Mortgage Daily.

In a poll of 330 reverse mortgage professionals, 69 percent of respondents voiced optimism on the business climate for 2020, with 13 percent claiming pessimism and 18 percent stating a neutral opinion. Looking back on the past 12 months, 56 percent of respondents said the industry’s outlook had improved, while 33 percent said the outlook remained the same and 11 percent said it got worse.

In regard to the greatest opportunity for the reverse mortgage sector this year, 38 percent of respondents cited the development of new proprietary products and 29 percent pointed to financial planners incorporating home equity into retirement plans. Regarding the challenges facing the industry, negative product perception and lack of product awareness of consumers were seen as the top obstacles by 36 percent and 26 percent of respondents, respectively.

“As more and more financial service professionals recognize the power home equity can have for seniors in retirement, the reverse mortgage industry will continue to grow more relevant,” said Chris Clow, editor of Reverse Mortgage Daily. “Taking that even further are the plethora of new, private reverse mortgage product options that are not reliant on the federal government. These private alternatives to traditional Home Equity Conversion Mortgages are a major source of optimism from the industry.”

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Phil Hall

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Feb 10, 2020

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