The Senior Australians Equity Release Association of Lenders (SEQUAL) has accredited a further 1000 reverse mortgage consultants (RMCs) over the past year, with take-up evenly distributed between aggregated and independent groups.
In 2007 only 250 participants became accredited RMC's, according to SEQUAL's head of education Kevin Conlon.
"There has been a very good, even allocation between aggregated and independent operators," Conlon said, adding that around 20 per cent of participants have been financial planners.
"This is interesting because effectively this is a foundation course for accreditation which has largely been marketed to the broker channel," he said.
New research from the NSW Department of Fair Trading indicates that 48 per cent of retirees would consider taking out a reverse mortgage in the future, according to SEQUAL.
The next stage in the project is to implement a website for RMC's which will enable them to take part in forums and maintain their skills.
The website, along with additional workshops for those that are accredited, will be launched by October 2008, Conlon said.
In May 2008, SEQUAL joined forces with the FPA to offer courses that will enable financial planners to become reverse mortgage consultants.
