Homeowners 62 and older saw their housing wealth grow by 3.7 percent in the second quarter to a record $9.57 trillion, according to the latest quarterly release of the NRMLA/RiskSpan Reverse Mortgage Market Index.

The NRMLA/RiskSpan Reverse Mortgage Market Index (RMMI) rose in Q2 2021 to 334.71, another all-time high since the index was first published in 2000. The increase in older homeowners’ wealth was mainly driven by an estimated 3.4 percent increase in home values, offset by a 2.2 percent increase in senior-held mortgage debt.

For a comprehensive commentary, please see NRMLA’s press release.

How RiskSpan Computes the RMMI

To calculate the RMMI, RiskSpan developed an econometric tool to estimate senior housing value, mortgage balances, and equity using data gathered from various public resources. These resources include the American Community Survey (ACS), Federal Reserve Flow of Funds (Z.1), and FHFA housing price indexes (HPI). The RMMI represents the senior equity level at time of measure relative to that of the base quarter in 2000.[1] 

A limitation of the RMMI relates to Non-consecutive data, such as census population. We use a smoothing approach to estimate data in between the observable periods and continue to look for ways to improve our methodology and find more robust data to improve the precision of the results. Until then, the RMMI and its relative metrics (values, mortgages, home equities) are best analyzed at a trending macro level, rather than at more granular levels, such as MSA.

[1] There was a change in RMMI methodology in Q3 2015 mainly to calibrate senior homeowner population and senior housing values observed in 2013 American Community Survey (ACS).