Miami Leads As Hot Spot for Reverse Mortgage Loans
According to the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association Miami, Florida is the region where the most reverse mortgage loans are being given out. When an Aliso Viejo, CA based consulting firm, Reverse Market Insight, took a look at data from HUD it found out that the three hottest reverse mortgages market where all located in Florida.
Miami tops the list of top 10 with 9,561 HECM loans being insured by FHA in the Miami metro area. Next on the top 10 list was Los Angeles with 4,126, then Tampa with 3,956 HECM loans. Then there are Santa Ana, CA with 3,695, Baltimore with 3,595, Phoenix with 3,582 reverse mortgage loans, Orlando with 3,556, Richmond, VA with 3,493, Philadelphia with 3,317 and finally Chicago with 3,184.
The question many are asking is why is Miami such a reverse mortgage haven?
One clear an obvious reason is that there is a large population of seniors in the Miami region. Many of these gentlemen bought their property when most areas of Florida were still made up of ranches, swamp and groves. The period of high property boom in Miami also attracted a lot of people who felt that property prices would only continue to move upwards. Miami today is thus filled with a lot high priced condos, designed with taste to enjoy the allure of the sun. However a lot of these expensive condos are now empty. So the large population of seniors in Miami might very well be a contributing factor but certainly not the only factor.
Miami not only leads the reverse mortgage top 10 list but leads with a large margin. Its’ number of issued reverse mortgage even doubles the number of loans for Los Angeles which is next on the list. The population of Miami seniors cannot be that high relatively, which leads to experts seeking out another reason.
While it is not confirmed many are beginning to feel that the high number of reverse mortgage loans may be due to a large population of Miami residents are using reverse mortgage to escape foreclosure. RealtyTrac.com list Florida as having the second highest rate of people filling for foreclosure with Dade County having a significant number of over done mortgage deals.
The financial advantages that reverse mortgage offers such as no monthly repayments for the loan or interest, the fact that nothing other than the property value is at risk may be attracting people who now see it as a better alternative to losing their homes. To be certain about this fact a survey may be conducted in this region to ask reverse mortgage borrowers why they opt for a reverse mortgage. However, it is becoming more plan that increase in unemployment, decrease in home values as well as declining pension figures are exercising more effect on reverse mortgage decisions than as it did in the past.
