HappySeniorHomeOwners Blog

Lately the sole mention of the words "Home Values" sends chills down many
Seniors' spines. In the Reverse Mortgage field we have seen how the values go down day by day in many areas. This has eaten away great part of the equity that many Seniors had on their homes.

Today we see that many Seniors that have a high mortgage balance could not receive enough  Reverse Mortgage funds to pay off their mortgage. If your house is free and clear, you are in a priviledged position.

Experts on the economy that I have read and heard recently, cant agree if we have "touched bottom". Many state that they feel that it is too early to make predictions and that we will continue to see "ups and downs" in home values. Many factors influence the behavior of the market. Each area is different to others and your local market would have to be carefully evaluated.

While many might think that it would be best to wait until values rise, to get a Reverse Mortgage. One would have to consider that when values rise, interest rates will rise too. Today, they are at historically lowest points.

Since higher interest rates will affect the amount you can get, even if values rise the funds you can get would be diminished by a higher interest rate.

In the South Florida area home values have risen between 3% to 7% historically.  Values have gone down between 30% to 50% in some areas and "may" continue to decrease. When they start to increase, they will start rising from down where they may be at that time.

Waiting for values to increase, might not be the best strategy,  you decide.

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