The Brookings Institution: Reasons for low HECM uptake and how to expand market growth
Despite the more Americans retiring without sufficient savings to fund their non-working years, reverse mortgages remain a niche product- one whose acceptance has shrunk considerably in recent years. This conundrum is addressed in a recent paper released by the Brookings Institution entitled, “The unfulfilled promise of reverse mortgages: Can a better market improve retirement security?”
It’s ironic when you consider the increasing debt held by older Americans, the near-complete disappearance of pensions from private sector companies, and increasing longevity. One would conclude this should be the golden age for reverse mortgages- but it’s not. The authors of the paper from the Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution made their case on why the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage is not widely accepted and how the HECM can move from being merely a niche product to one that has widespread acceptance. For those of you not inclined to read the report here’s our brief summary.