Montana Reverse Mortgage Information Overview


1. Census Data Relevant to the Montana Reverse Mortgage Market. It is helpful to understand the demographic make-up of Montana'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
MT40.2413.3111.41916.83269.129

The Census Bureau projects the senior citizen population in Montana 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
MT144,96115.06269,55825.83


2. Montana'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 Montana for the most recent 1-year and 5-year periods and, also, how the HPI rankings for Montana 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
MT1.21462.3413


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



Montana Limits for HECM Loans by County

4. Reverse Mortgage Loan Activity in Montana. Since September 2001, a total of 865 HECM reverse mortgages have been endorsed by HUD Offices located in Montana. Montana reverse mortgage endorsements represent 0.2% 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 Montana 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 Montana 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
HELENA865

Calendar
Year
HECM
Loans
Sep-2001
to
Nov-2008
200111
200285
2003107
200497
200597
2006178
2007211
200879

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



Top Montana HECM LendersHECM
Loans
2008
WELLS FARGO BANK NA25
GUILD MORTGAGE COMPANY21
FINANCIAL FREEDOM SENIOR FUNDI12
MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS INC8
COUNTRYWIDE BANK FSB3
MANN MORTGAGE LLC3
MOUNTAIN WEST BANK OF HELENA N2
ACTION MORTGAGE1
PACIFIC REVERSE MORTGAGE INC1
GREENLIGHT FINANCIAL SERVICES1
MOUNTAIN WEST BANK1
EVERBANK REVERSE MORTGAGE LLC1
CHALLENGE FINANCIAL INVESTORS0
FIRST INTERSTATE BANK0

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



Top Montana HECM LendersHECM
Loans
Sep-2001
to
Nov-2008
INTERMOUNTAIN MORTGAGE CO INC372
WELLS FARGO BANK NA246
FINANCIAL FREEDOM SENIOR FUNDI76
WELLS FARGO HOME MORTGAGE INC53
GUILD MORTGAGE COMPANY51
HERITAGE BANK18
MOUNTAIN WEST BANK OF HELENA N15
MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS INC8
MANN MORTGAGE LLC7
PACIFIC REVERSE MORTGAGE INC6
COUNTRYWIDE BANK FSB3
ACTION MORTGAGE2
CHALLENGE FINANCIAL INVESTORS1
FIRST INTERSTATE BANK1
ALLIED HOME MORTGAGE CAPITAL C1
GREENLIGHT FINANCIAL SERVICES1
CARTERET MORTGAGE CORPORATION1
MOUNTAIN WEST BANK1
EVERBANK REVERSE MORTGAGE LLC1
SEATTLE MORTGAGE COMPANY1
FIRST NATIONAL BANK0
ALLIED MORTGAGE CAPITAL CORP0
COUNTRYWIDE HOME LOANS INC0


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