OAKLAND, CA--(Marketwire - February 24, 2009) - The Economic Stimulus Bill signed recently by
President Obama provides even more of America's seniors with the
opportunity to benefit from a reverse mortgage. The new bill will raise the
HECM loan limits to 150 percent of the Freddie Mac loan limit. Currently,
that would create a HECM loan limit of $625,500, helping older Americans
access even more of the equity available in their homes to augment
retirement incomes or offset investment losses.
"The past six months have been very important ones for the reverse mortgage
industry and seniors in particular," said Bart Johnson, a reverse mortgage
pioneer and current co-chair of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders
Association. "During that time, the federal government has raised lending
limits twice and reduced and capped origination fees."
Online financial resource Golden Gateway Financial today shared the average
home values of individuals using its online
reverse
mortgage calculator to research reverse mortgages in the fourth quarter
of 2008. This data demonstrates which areas could benefit the most from
this new lending limit. According to Golden Gateway Financial, seniors in
five states have a self-reported average home value between the most recent
HECM loan limit of $417,000 and the new limit of $625,500. Those states
include California, Massachusetts, New York, Washington and South Carolina.
Unfortunately, the data also reveals that many states with large
populations of seniors have experienced significant self-reported drops in
home values over the past year. This means that many seniors who previously
stood to benefit from these new limits, can no longer realize the full
potential of their home's equity. For example, seniors in Oregon, a
relatively stable real estate market, reported a decrease of nearly five
percent over the course of 2008 to finish at $410,765 for the fourth
quarter -- just under the previous loan limit of $417,000.
"It is encouraging that the government is moving quickly to provide seniors
with even greater access to the equity that exists in their homes," said
Eric Bachman, founder and CEO of Golden Gateway Financial. "But this data
shows that falling home values are quickly outrunning new lending limits."
Q4 Average
State Home Value*
------------
New York $ 550,065
------------
Massachusetts $ 535,620
------------
California $ 506,850
------------
Washington $ 482,518
------------
South Carolina $ 418,533
------------
Colorado $ 416,803**
------------
Oregon $ 410,765**
------------
New Mexico $ 366,348**
------------
Florida $ 377,879
------------
* Self-reported home values by seniors, 62+ in Golden Gateway Financial's
reverse mortgage cash calculator for Q4 '08
** Indicates states that were previously above prior lending limit of
$417,000 during 2008 but declined in Q4 '08
For more information about reverse mortgages or to access Golden Gateway
Financial's industry-leading suite of online retirement assessment tools
and resources, please visit
http://www.goldengateway.com.
About Golden Gateway Financial
Golden Gateway Financial (
www.goldengateway.com), located in Oakland,
California, is a comprehensive resource for senior citizens, baby boomers
and soon-to-be retirees to assess their financial health at retirement.
Through a unique set of online tools and clear and unbiased communication,
the company helps individuals address "The Great American Retirement
Dilemma." The tools enable users to better assess the security of their
nest egg and to make intelligent choices to fully enjoy what should be the
best years of their lives. The company also operates the industry's
premiere reverse mortgage service with a proprietary reverse mortgage
calculator and a team of trained counselors to help seniors better
understand the product, evaluate whether it is right for them, and identify
their ideal lending partner.
Contact Information: Press Contact:
Michael Azzano
Cosmo PR
415.596.1978