Heat Map Shows Regional Variations in HECM Activity

Heat Map Shows Regional Variations in HECM Activity,

We put together a “heat map” of the 50 states to highlight how widely HECM activity varies across the nation. States in blue and purple are “cooler” HECM markets while yellow, orange and red represent hot areas of the country.

The map is based on a comparison of each state’s 2007 HECM activity (through nine months) to 2006 HECM activity for the full year. While this is not an “apples-to-apples” time-frame comparison, we feel it provides a means to highlight areas where HECM growth is strongest. Markets that have equaled or exceeded the prior full year’s production in just nine months are obviously HOT. (Overall, U.S. HECM endorsements through September 2007 are just 2% lower than HECM production for all of 2006: 83,596 vs 85,639.)

A quick glance at the map below shows that the South is the place to be if you’re peddling reverse mortgages in 2007. Nearly every state below the Mason-Dixon line (except North Carolina) has seen HECM activity in just nine months of 2007 that is 25% or more greater than activity for all 0f 2007. Mississippi and Louisiana are particularly hot areas, perhaps due to the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Katrina. Even Florida, which has seen it’s housing market decline, remains a hot market for HECM reverse mortgages.

Western states (with a couple of exceptions) are not seeing anywhere near this level of growth. We’ve commented before about the sharp drop in California HECM activity. But perhaps most surprising is the somewhat tepid HECM activity in the Northwest states. This part of the country is generally considered to have the strongest housing market in the nation at this time.

We’ve also provided below the heat map further details for market areas within states for you to review and analyze as you wish.

Related posts

• HECM Market Comparison 10/31/2007 vs 10/31/2006 (0)
• HECM Growth By State (0)
• HECM Activity Shows Moderate Rebound But Still Disappoints (1)
• California HECM Activity Down (1)
• Reverse Mortgage Growth Sputters in September (0)

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Written by News & Feeds on November 7th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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