Lifestyle to Rule Reverse Market?

The reverse mortgage market will look far different in the years ahead, according to the co-chair of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association. While today's senior citizens are using their homes as "a product of last resort" to live out their remaining years as comfortably as possible, future seniors will see their homes as financial assets to be used to live their lives to the fullest, Bart Johnson said at NRMLA's Eastern Regional Meeting in Philadelphia. "People will have to finance their longevity," he said in a luncheon address. "The good news is they have wealth in the form of home equity, and they won't mind using it to maintain the lifestyle they want." Though some are worried that the reverse mortgage field is the next subprime market, Mr. Johnson, who is president of Life Stages Financial, Newport Beach, Calif., said the negative press will eventually blow over and the business will become re-energized. "This is a vastly underserved market," he said. "The unmet needs are huge."