Press Releases
Golden Gateway Financial Reports that Home Values for Older Americans Finally Begin to Rebound in Fourth Quarter 2009
Largest states still experience drop-off in home value; overall, home values remain far below 2008 levels
March 02, 2010 - Oakland, Calif. - Golden Gateway Financial, a comprehensive financial resource for seniors and retirees, today released new usage data from its online Reverse Mortgage Calculator that showed average home values for older Americans have halted their slide after remaining flat or declining for seven consecutive quarters. The national average self-reported home value of older Americans rose from $369,762 in the third quarter of 2009 to $381,895 in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Older Americans were one of the last segments of the population to see home prices rebound, but overall home values for seniors remain significantly lower than 2008 levels. Despite this rise in the national average, the report also showed significant decline in many large states, including Florida, Texas and New York.
This mixed recovery in terms of senior home values will likely continue as individual markets reduce inventory and regain their footing. Data from the most recent S&P/Case-Shiller1 Home Price Indices shows that many markets within these states continue to show improvement, and this should eventually contribute to an increase in home values for older Americans as well.
“Even a minimal gain in home value is a reassuring sign for older Americans because many of these individuals live on a fixed income and rely on their home to support their retirement lifestyle,”
said Eric Bachman, founder and CEO of Golden Gateway Financial. “This is especially true for those considering a reverse mortgage because as their home increases in value, so does their potential for greater reverse mortgage proceeds.”
Additional observations from the data include:
- The average age of users remained roughly consistent
- Self-reported senior home values rose by a little more than three percent between the third and fourth quarter of 2009
- The average existing forward mortgage debt dropped slightly to $143,360
- Reverse mortgage average max up front proceeds available rose by roughly three percent while the average max monthly proceeds available dropped by 13 percent
* For state specific data, please contact Golden Gateway Financial
| 2009 Reverse Mortgage Calculator National Averages | ||||
| Q1 '09 | Q2 '09 | Q3 '09 | Q4 '09 | |
| Average age | 69.5 | 69.3 | 69.4 | 69.4 |
| Average home value | $413,371 | $407,557 | $369,762 | $381,895 |
| Median home value | $300,000 | $300,00 | $270,000 | $275,000 |
| Percent with existing mortgage | 49.9% | 49.8% | 51.3% | 47.6% |
| Average existing mortgage debt | $161,265 | $152,455 | $144,497 | $143,360 |
| Average max up front payment | $143,872 | $151,089 | $136,711 | $132,912 |
| Average max monthly payment | $922 | $1,097 | $993 | $863 |
| 2008 vs 2009 Reverse Mortgage Calculator National Averages | ||||
| Q4 '08 | Q4 '09 | 2008 Avg | 2009 Avg | |
| Average age | 69.2 | 69.4 | 69.1 | 69.4 |
| Average home value | $412,550 | $381,895 | $437,496 | $390,328 |
| Median home value | $290,00 | $275,000 | $300,00 | $286,000 |
| Percent with existing mortgage | 46.1% | 47.6% | 51.7% | 50.0% |
| Average existing mortgage debt | $149,691 | $143,360 | $154,762 | $149,996 |
| Average max up front payment | $136,191 | $132,912 | $131,637 | $141,146 |
| Average max monthly payment | $880 | $863 | $789 | $973 |
Golden Gateway Financial's award winning online reverse mortgage calculator has been recognized as an important resource for seniors by the Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, USA Today, and others. It allows users to enter basic information to configure reverse mortgage loan parameters and then compare lenders based on those fields. Golden Gateway Financial makes anonymous and aggregated data from these basic entry fields publicly available on a quarterly basis.
Reverse Mortgage for Purchase Calculator to offer borrowers assistance in understanding how changes in federal reverse mortgage guidelines could help them.
Golden Gateway Financial for more information about reverse mortgages or to access the company's industry-leading suite of online retirement assessment tools and resources.
About Golden Gateway Financial
Golden Gateway Financial (http://www.goldengateway.com), located in Oakland, California, is a comprehensive resource for older Americans to assess their financial health. Through a unique set of online tools and information, the company helps individuals make intelligent financial decisions so they can more fully enjoy what should be the best years of their lives. The company also operates the industry's premier reverse mortgage and life settlement services with innovative new calculators and products for each, and a team of trained consultants that helps seniors better understand and evaluate their options.
Press Inquiries:
Michael Azzano
Cosmo Public Relations
415-596-1978
1Home Prices Continue to Send Mixed Messages as 2009 Comes to a Close According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Indices (Press Release), Standard & Poor's, February 23, 2010
