Massachusetts Reverse Mortgage Information Overview


1. Census Data Relevant to the Massachusetts Reverse Mortgage Market. It is helpful to understand the demographic make-up of Massachusetts'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
MA38.21412.9141.7416.9276445

The Census Bureau projects the senior citizen population in Massachusetts 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
MA908,56513.7231,463,11020.913


2. Massachusetts'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 Massachusetts for the most recent 1-year and 5-year periods and, also, how the HPI rankings for Massachusetts 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
MA0.784528.0839


3. Section HECM Loan Limits for Massachusetts. 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 Massachusetts county.



Massachusetts Limits for HECM Loans by County

4. Reverse Mortgage Loan Activity in Massachusetts. Since September 2001, a total of 10,078 HECM reverse mortgages have been endorsed by HUD Offices located in Massachusetts. Massachusetts reverse mortgage endorsements represent 2.8% 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 Massachusetts 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 (Aug-2008). The first chart shows the distribution of HECM loan originations by Massachusetts 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
Aug-2008
BOSTON10,078

Calendar
Year
HECM
Loans
Sep-2001
to
Aug-2008
200163
2002266
2003612
2004923
20051,400
20062,534
20073,266
20081,014

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



Top Massachusetts HECM LendersHECM
Loans
2008
WELLS FARGO BANK NA116
FINANCIAL FREEDOM SENIOR FUNDI63
TOWNE AND COUNTRY MORTGAGE SVC57
ROCKLAND TRUST CO41
FIRST CALL MORTGAGE COMPANY37
DIRECT FINANCE CORP28
EVERBANK REVERSE MORTGAGE LLC25
AAA SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND BANK24
CONTINENTAL FUNDING CORP23
LIBERTY REVERSE MORTGAGE INC22
FIRST SERVICE HOME MORTGAGE IN21
MORTGAGE ALTERNATIVES CORP18
HARBOR MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS INC18
CASTLE MORTGAGE BROKERAGE INC17
MORTGAGE ASSOCIATES INC17
CAPE COD FIVE CENTS SAVINGS BA14
COUNTRYWIDE BANK FSB14
ALLIED HOME MORTGAGE CAPITAL C14
EAST BOSTON SAVINGS BANK14
SOVEREIGN BANK FSB14
THE SAVINGS BANK13
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BANK13
THE MORTGAGE GROUP LTD13
ACTION MORTGAGE12
FAIRWAY INDEPENDENT MORTGAGE C12

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



Top Massachusetts HECM LendersHECM
Loans
Sep-2001
to
Aug-2008
WELLS FARGO BANK NA2,418
FINANCIAL FREEDOM SENIOR FUNDI1,055
BNY MORTGAGE COMPANY LLC1,046
AMSTON MORTGAGE570
CONTINENTAL FUNDING CORP490
WELLS FARGO HOME MORTGAGE INC374
TOWNE AND COUNTRY MORTGAGE SVC373
HARBOR MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS INC252
GATEWAY FUNDING DIVERSIFIED MT214
DIRECT FINANCE CORP195
FIRST SERVICE HOME MORTGAGE IN172
MCLAUGHLIN FINANCIAL INC127
EAST BOSTON SAVINGS BANK109
MORTGAGE ALTERNATIVES CORP108
JACKSON FUNDING LLC104
CASTLE MORTGAGE BROKERAGE INC102
MORTGAGE FINANCIAL INC87
ROCKLAND TRUST CO81
FITCHBURG SAVINGS BANK78
ADVANCED MORTGAGE SERVICES LLC77
CARTERET MORTGAGE CORPORATION71
GIA MORTGAGE CORPORTION65
VERTICAL LEND INC62
AMERICAN MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL62
TRAVIS MORTGAGE LLC61


ATTENTION REVERSE MORTGAGE LENDERS - if you are listed above as one of Massachusetts'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 .