Data Paint Grim Picture for Senior Borrowers

Data show senior citizen borrowers are finding themselves particularly hard hit by recent market woes, according to one Internet-based reverse mortgage provider. "Seniors across the nation have been hit with a hard one-two punch. First the stock market, and now the realization of falling home values," said Eric Bachman, founder and CEO of Golden Gateway Financial, Oakland, Calif., noting that reverse mortgages may help rectify the problem. He said third quarter usage data from the company's reverse mortgage calculator show "a troubling picture." According to GGF, senior citizens self-reported a 4.5% decline in third quarter home values as compared to the first quarter of 2008. The average national existing mortgage debt of senior citizens in the third quarter of 2008 was $146,217. In California, the average mortgage debt in the third quarter was at $219,321 or 50% greater than the national average. The average mortgage debt reported by seniors in September was $211,411 or 74% of the month's reported home sale price of $283,000 across the state, DataQuick findings show. The company also quoted findings from a recent AARP study that shows over 684,000 of those aged 50 and over were either delinquent or in foreclosure.