Arkansas Reverse Mortgage Information Overview


1. Census Data Relevant to the Arkansas Reverse Mortgage Market. It is helpful to understand the demographic make-up of Arkansas's reverse mortgage eligible population. The following information comes from the US Census Bureau's 2005 American Community Survey.



StateMedian
Age
State
Rank
% Pop
Over 65
State
Rank
% Pop
Over 85
State
Rank
% of
Households
w/Retirement
Income
State
Rank
%
Owner
Occupied
State
Rank
AR372713.5101.32416.92767.836

The Census Bureau projects the senior citizen population in Arkansas will change as follows in the years ahead:


State2010
Projected
Pop.
Over 65
2010
Projected
% Pop.
Over 65
State
Rank
2030
Projected
Pop.
Over 65
2030
Projected
% Pop.
Over 65
State
Rank
AR412,15214.310656,40620.323


2. Arkansas'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 Arkansas for the most recent 1-year and 5-year periods and, also, how the HPI rankings for Arkansas compare to other states. Clearly, 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. Figures are updated quarterly (most recent update made 2/28/08 reporting 4th Quarter 2007 results).



State1 Year %
Home Value
Increase
State
Rank
5 Year %
Home Value
Increase
State
Rank
AR0.591931.3736


3. Section HECM Loan Limits for Arkansas. 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 203b Limits for each Arkansas county.



Arkansas Limits for HECM Loans by County

4. Reverse Mortgage Loan Activity in Arkansas. Since September 2001, a total of 1,315 HECM reverse mortgages have been endorsed by HUD Offices located in Arkansas. Arkansas reverse mortgage endorsements represent 0.4% of the total 361,591 reverse mortgages originated throughout the United States during this timespan.

Over the past few years, the volume of reverse mortgage originations has grown in Arkansas 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 Arkansas 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.



Federal Office
Location
HECM
Loans
Sep-2001
to
Nov-2008
LITTLE ROCK1,315

Calendar
Year
HECM
Loans
Sep-2001
to
Nov-2008
200111
200274
200395
2004111
2005111
2006223
2007426
2008264

5. Arkansas Reverse Mortgage Lenders. So, who are Arkansas's top reverse mortgage lenders? The following table shows Arkansas's top 25 originators of HUD HECM loans thus far for calendar year 2008:



Top Arkansas HECM LendersHECM
Loans
2008
URBAN FINANCIAL GROUP58
WELLS FARGO BANK NA40
CITIZENS MORTGAGE CORPORATION26
FINANCIAL FREEDOM SENIOR FUNDI19
JUDITH O SMITH MORTGAGE GROUP16
PACIFIC REVERSE MORTGAGE INC14
ALLIED HOME MORTGAGE CAPITAL C13
BANK OF AMERICA NA CHARLOTTE10
GRIFFIN FINANCIAL MORTGAGE LLC8
EXPRESS MORTGAGE LLC7
OMNI HOME FINANCING INC6
WONDER STATE MORTGAGE INC6
FIRST CONTINENTAL MTG CORP6
EVERBANK REVERSE MORTGAGE LLC5
COUNTRYWIDE BANK FSB4
MALVERN NATIONAL BANK4
FAIRWAY INDEPENDENT MORTGAGE C3
PULASKI MORTGAGE CO3
MOORE MORTGAGE INC3
GREENLIGHT FINANCIAL SERVICES3
WATERMARK CAPITAL INC1
PINNACLE FINANCIAL SERVICES IN1
BANK OF THE OZARKS1
JAMES B NUTTER AND COMPANY1
LIVE WELL FINANCIAL INC1

The table below provides a longer term view of Arkansas's top 25 lenders looking at the period from September 2001 up to the current month (Nov-2008). For a complete listing of Arkansas reverse mortgage lenders, use this Arkansas reverse mortgage lender directory.



Top Arkansas HECM LendersHECM
Loans
Sep-2001
to
Nov-2008
WELLS FARGO BANK NA298
FINANCIAL FREEDOM SENIOR FUNDI278
URBAN FINANCIAL GROUP133
WELLS FARGO HOME MORTGAGE INC102
SEATTLE MORTGAGE COMPANY81
FIRST CONTINENTAL MTG CORP78
PACIFIC REVERSE MORTGAGE INC45
GRIFFIN FINANCIAL MORTGAGE LLC40
ALLIED HOME MORTGAGE CAPITAL C27
CITIZENS MORTGAGE CORPORATION26
BANK OF SALEM25
PULASKI MORTGAGE CO25
EXPRESS MORTGAGE LLC20
BANK OF AMERICA NA CHARLOTTE17
JUDITH O SMITH MORTGAGE GROUP16
MOORE MORTGAGE INC11
MORTGAGE SOURCE INC10
MALVERN NATIONAL BANK9
OMNI HOME FINANCING INC8
COUNTRYWIDE BANK FSB7
GREENLIGHT FINANCIAL SERVICES7
WONDER STATE MORTGAGE INC6
FAIRWAY INDEPENDENT MORTGAGE C6
EVERBANK REVERSE MORTGAGE LLC5
HIBERNIA NATIONAL BANK4


ATTENTION REVERSE MORTGAGE LENDERS - if you are listed above as one of Arkansas's top reverse mortgage lenders, you should consider turning your listing into a clickable hyperlink that will take visitors directly to your company's website. Your "live" link will appear for every state that you rank in the top 25 lenders. Reverse-Mortgage-Information.org is one of the leading sites on the web for seniors seeking independent information about reverse mortgages. For more information, contact us .