The growth of the reverse mortgages market in Australia has continued to slow down, according to new research by Deloitte Actuaries and Consultants.
The market grew 9 per cent last year, from $2.48 billion at the end of December 2008 to $2.71 billion at the end of 2009.
In 2008, the annual growth rate was still 23 per cent.
But settlements of new loans showed a slight uptick over the second half of 2009, growing from $122 million to $141 million in the first half of last year, an increase of 16 per cent.
"Hopefully this points to a re-emergence in demand for reverse mortgages," Deloitte Actuaries and Consultants partner James Hickey said Friday.
The sector saw the exit of a number of product providers following the collapse of the securitisation market during the global financial crisis.
But the careful re-opening of the securitisation market has not yet supported a return of these providers, Hickey said.
"It has been challenging enough if you are a prime lender of forward mortgages to re-enter the securitisation market," he said.
"No one has gone for a non-conforming or more unique mortgages, being a reverse mortgage, securitisation,. which is a pity because it was one of the prime funding sources for non-bank reverse mortgage providers," Hickey said.
The research was commissioned by industry group Senior Australians Equity Release Association (SEQUAL).
SEQUAL chief executive Kevin Conlon said without government support it would take some time before more non-bank reverse mortgage providers would come back into the market.
"It is still with some regret that having lobbied the government to consider the extension of their stimulus package - some $8 billion dollars committed to the forward market to stimulate a restart in the securitisation market - we weren't able to get the same support for the reverse mortgage market," Conlon said.
