First American Real Estate Solutions Study Identifies Consumer-Friendly Mortgage Lending Opportunities

May 24, 2005

ANAHEIM, Calif., /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- First American Real Estate Solutions (RES®) released a new study revealing lending opportunities in the current mortgage marketplace that would provide an entire sector of consumers with benefits currently unavailable to them. The study, entitled "Equity Lending to Tomorrow's Borrowers: New Opportunities and New Solutions" by Dr. Christopher Cagan, director of research and analytics at First American RES, analyzes lending information on over 29 million residential properties sold over 50 years in more than 700 counties. At its core, the study investigates trends in lending patterns for first and second mortgages and identifies a specific group of homeowners, called "Tomorrow's Borrowers," who stand to benefit from the development of new mortgage products in the future.

According to Cagan, Tomorrow's Borrowers have owned their residences for six years or more and hold most of the $7 trillion in home equity in America. Despite holding significant equity in their homes, many of these homeowners could be classified as non-prime or sub-prime borrowers because they have low incomes, but are by no means impoverished. It is through new mortgage products that this group of borrowers could enjoy financial advantages similar to those that are typically offered to prime borrowers.

"Because we track the historical behavior of borrowers nationwide, we are able to provide our clients with unique insight into the marketplace and assist them in exploring untapped opportunities," said George Livermore, president of First American RES.

The study suggests that in the next three to five years, lenders will introduce innovative products that will meet the unique needs of Tomorrow's Borrowers by providing them with financial advantages beyond what they presently enjoy. These new products may include:

Inflation-protected reverse mortgages that insulate retirement income from erosion through inflation;

Single-payment reverse mortgages combined with the purchase of life-stage-related products such as insurance, often at discounts obtained through working with strategic partner firms and the formation of buyer groups; and

  • Inflation-protected reverse mortgages that insulate retirement income from erosion through inflation;
  • Single-payment reverse mortgages combined with the purchase of life-stage-related products such as insurance, often at discounts obtained through working with strategic partner firms and the formation of buyer groups; and
  • Favorable interest rates and loan terms that are made possible by advanced analytics or products endowed with market intelligence that enable lenders and ratings agencies to more accurately assess risk.


For an electronic copy of the Tomorrow's Borrowers study, visit www.firstamres.com.

Source: The First American Corporation


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