Boston Reverse Mortgage Information and Facts

1. Census Data Relevant to the Boston Reverse Mortgage Market. It is helpful to understand the demographic make-up of Boston's reverse mortgage eligible population. The following information comes from the US Census Bureau's 2005 American Community Survey. Rankings are based on 359 metropolitan statistical areas (MSA's) and are in descending order with higher rankings indicating relatively older populations.

2. Boston's Home Value Growth. Home price increases are an important factor in the reverse mortgage decision. The information below comes from the quarterly Housing Price Index (HPI) published by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO). These figures indicate the average percentage gain in value for homes in Boston for the most recent 1-year and 5-year periods and, also, how the HPI rankings for Boston compare to other areas. Rankings shown are for 287 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA's) ranked in descending order with faster growing areas ranking higher relative to slower growth areas. Figures are updated quarterly (most recent update made 2/28/08 reporting 4th Quarter 2007 results).

Senior homeowners in areas with strong home price appreciation and substantial accumulated home equity are more apt to consider a reverse mortgage as a supplemental source of retirement income.

3. HECM Loan Limits for Boston. The federally-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program has limits on the size of loan that can be insured. These are known as "203b limits" and are set by HUD for each county in each state. Click on the link below for a list of current HECM Limits for each Boston county.

State	County	HECM Limit	Last Revised
MASSACHUSETTS	PLYMOUTH	362,790	20060101
MASSACHUSETTS	NORFOLK	362,790	20060101
MASSACHUSETTS	MIDDLESEX	362,790	20060101
NEW HAMPSHIRE	ROCKINGHAM	362,790	20060101
MASSACHUSETTS	SUFFOLK	362,790	20060101
MASSACHUSETTS	ESSEX	362,790	20060101
NEW HAMPSHIRE	STRAFFORD	362,790	20060101

4. Reverse Mortgage Loan Activity in Boston. Since September 2001, a total of 10,078 HECM reverse mortgages have been originated by the Boston HUD Office. Boston reverse mortgage endorsements represent 2.8% of the total 361,591 reverse mortgages originated throughout the United States during the same period.

Over the past few years, the volume of reverse mortgage originations has grown in Boston as well as the rest of the country. Following are HECM reverse mortgage statisitics for the period from September 2001 up to the current month (Nov-2008). The first chart shows the distribution of HECM loan originations by Boston HUD Office region and the second chart shows year-to-year HECM loan growth. Further information on HECM loan activity can be found using the HECM Data Tool.

5. Boston Reverse Mortgage Lenders. So, who are Boston's top reverse mortgage lenders? Following is a table showing Boston's top 10 originators of HUD HECM loans thus far for calendar year 2008:

The table below provides a longer term view of Boston's top 10 lenders looking at the period from September 2001 up to the current month (Nov-2008). For a complete listing of Boston reverse mortgage lenders, use this reverse mortgage lender directory .