Maine Reverse Mortgage Information and Facts

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

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

2. Maine'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 Maine for the most recent 1-year and 5-year periods and, also, how the HPI rankings for Maine 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).

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

County	HECM Limit	Last Revised
WALDO	200,160	20080305
SOMERSET	200,160	20080305
KENNEBEC	200,160	20080305
OXFORD	200,160	20080305
WASHINGTON	200,160	20080305
PENOBSCOT	200,160	20080305
ANDROSCOGGIN	200,160	20060101
PISCATAQUIS	200,160	20080305
KNOX	200,160	20080305
SAGADAHOC	256,025	20060101
CUMBERLAND	256,025	20060101
LINCOLN	241,395	20080101
FRANKLIN	200,160	20080305
AROOSTOOK	200,160	20080305
YORK	256,025	20060101
HANCOCK	207,100	20080101

4. Reverse Mortgage Loan Activity in Maine. Since September 2001, a total of 1,392 HECM reverse mortgages have been endorsed by HUD Offices located in Maine. Maine 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 Maine 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 Maine 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. Maine Reverse Mortgage Lenders. So, who are Maine's top reverse mortgage lenders? The following table shows Maine's top 25 originators of HUD HECM loans thus far for calendar year 2008:

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

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