Home equity loans

A pair of professors with industry ties say reverse mortgages deserve a second look, partly because of a series of federal reforms in recent years designed to protect taxpayers and consumers.

While millennials comprise the largest cohort of homebuyers, the aging baby boomer generation has created 7.86 million more homeowners and 2.82 million renters age 60 and older — growth rates higher than any other demographic.

Figure, the startup headed by Mike Cagney, uses blockchain technology to provide home equity loans in as little as five days. It intends to use the newly raised funds to offer other services, including wealth management.

Home equity loans the Federal Housing Administration offers to older borrowers are in a better position now that the government shutdown has temporarily ended.

Better Mortgage has launched a mortgage refinance program to help federal government employees affected by the shutdown utilize their home equity for living expenses.

Bank of America's first-mortgage production dropped almost 26% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2018, but it experienced a less severe 10% decline in home equity lending during the same period.

Consecutive-month default rates for home loans are increasing, and they could remain higher the next few months, according to a recent report.

Consumer lending should also be a bright spot, while mortgage lending could be suppressed by rising rates and tight housing supplies.

More consumers fell behind on their loans in the third quarter of 2018, even as average wages rose and the unemployment rate fell to a 50-year low.

Late payments on mortgages are expected to keep dropping and credit is expected to remain strong next year, in part because housing prices remain healthy in most areas, according to TransUnion.