The top 5 reverse mortgage stories from the first half of 2026

With the first half of 2026 in the rearview mirror, the reverse mortgage industry continues to work through a variety of pain points that are keeping origination and securitization levels historically low.

HousingWire‘s Reverse Mortgage Daily (RMD) analyzed page views to uncover the most popular stories during the first six months of the year. While mortgage rates, mortgage insurance premiums and reverse mortgage sales tactics are noteworthy subjects, here are the stories that captured the most attention.

1. States debate senior property tax relief

Rising property taxes across much of the country are catching the attention of homeowners — and that’s especially true for seniors living on fixed incomes. At least three states attempted legislative efforts that would lower costs and better equip older residents for aging in place.

In Tennessee, Rutherford County Assessor Rob Mitchell pushed the Tennessee Golden Homeowners Tax Relief Program, a proposal that would allow full reimbursement of property taxes for homeowners 65 and older who have lived in the Volunteer State for at least 20 years. The cost of the program would equal approximately 3% of the state’s annual state budget and could be funded by a recurring surplus estimated at $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion per year. But the proposal hasn’t gone anywhere, and the assessor’s office has been embroiled in controversy after state officials determined that many recent assessments were “riddled with errors.”

Kentucky lawmakers advanced Senate Bill 51, a proposed constitutional amendment to freeze property tax assessments for homeowners 65 and older. Supporters cited relief for fixed-income seniors, while the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy warned about funding strains for schools and local governments that rely on the revenue. The state Senate passed the bill unanimously, but it did not receive enough votes in the House to be placed on voter ballots this year.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Gov. Mikie Sherrill proposed scaled-back property tax relief in her first-year budget. The plan would have cut the income cap for eligibility to $250,000 and reduced the maximum relief to $4,000 per years. But that plan never came to pass: This week, Sherrill signed the state’s fiscal year 2027 budget, which includes more than $4.1 billion in property tax relief through three programs. One of them was revised to provide higher annual benefits of up to $6,500, depending on household income.

2. Senior home sellers take a hit on profits

Older homeowners, especially those over 70, make significantly lower returns when selling their homes, according to a research brief published by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. The brief found that poor upkeep, the rise of private listings and the prevalence of sales to real estate investors are driving that gap.

The gap grows with age and translates into tens of thousands of dollars in lost value on a typical sale. An 80-year-old seller earns about 0.5% less per year than a 45-year-old. Over an average 11-year holding period, that adds up to sales proceeds that are roughly 5% lower. On a $400,000 home, the difference is about $20,000.

That information comes at a time when baby boomers represent the nation’s largest group of home buyers and sellers. And it could provide food for thought as originators and real estate agents work to breathe life into reverse mortgage for purchase programs, which have been underutilized for many years.

3. Aging in place is reshaping housing demand

Aging in place is often driven out of financial necessity, Rosarium Health CEO Cameron Carter said in a recent interview with RMD. Affordable housing alternatives are often in short supply for this population, and the cost of assisting-living facilities and other types of long-term care are making those options more prohibitive.

A former value-based care executive at DaVita and Bright Health, Carter said there’s a simple but profound problem occurring: Most homes aren’t built to handle the specific needs of seniors and require signification modifications to get there. “Ninety percent of housing was built in this country before the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) was even a law, and the ADA only applies to public spaces — not private residences,” he said.

Aging-in-place experts are attempting to educate the reverse mortgage industry about smart-home technology and other tools that could address these issues. Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs), proprietary reverse mortgages and flexible home equity lines of credit designed for seniors could finance these necessary home improvements.

4. Older women stand out as prime reverse mortgage candidates

An AARP survey found that women 50 and older are insecure about retirement, the high costs of health care, emergency savings efforts and caregiving duties. And while many of them rely on Social Security benefits, reverse mortgage use remains concentrated among single women.

Federal Housing Administration data shows the HECM program predominantly served single female borrowers in fiscal year 2025, making up 41.1% of all endorsements. That statistic could serve as opportunity for reverse mortgage companies in their marketing and sales efforts.

“In the last six months, I’ve gotten four cold calls from clients, and each one of them said, ‘I just want to work with a woman,'” Christina Harmes, a reverse mortgage broker with Barrett Financial, told RMD. “I’ve had situations where it was a husband and wife. The wife didn’t feel cared for and spoken to properly by the originator who was male, so she went and looked up somebody else.”

5. Elon Musk says retirement savings could become ‘irrelevant’

Near the start of the year, Elon Musk raised some eyebrows when he suggested future technological abundance, driven by artificial intelligence, could make retirement savings a relic of the past. Musk, who became the world’s first trillionaire after the public launch of SpaceX, made the comments on a podcast.

“One side recommendation I have is: Don’t worry about squirreling money away for retirement in 10 or 20 years,” Musk said. “It won’t matter. If any of the things that we said are true, saving for retirement will be irrelevant.”

“The good future is anyone can have whatever stuff they want,” he added. “That would mean better medical care than anyone has today, available for everyone within five years. No scarcity of goods and services. You can learn anything you want about anything for free.”

His statement, unsurprisingly, received immediate and sharp pushback from financial planners and other retirement experts. Survey data released in April by the Employee Benefit Research Institute showed that 64% of Americans express confidence about having enough money for a comfortable retirement. But that means roughly one-third don’t have confidence. And sentiment declined over the past year among workers and retirees alike.

Financial adviser Ryan Ponsford of Equity Wealth Strategies recently told RMD that clients should have “different spigots you can pull” in retirement, ranging from Social Security and pensions to stock-and-bond portfolios and Roth IRAs.

“The reverse mortgage line of credit is typically not an option until you’re 62, so you don’t have to spend a bunch of time on it if the client is 50. But I might start positioning them to account for their home in their retirement plan,” Ponsford said.