Nearly 10 million homeowners in the United States are still making term mortgage payments and are at least 65 years of age or older. While all of these homeowners are unlikely to be approved for a product like a reverse mortgage, it’s hard to say, but it does give additional context to the presence of an addressable market and the potential for the category of. products. There is a catch, however.

The statistic comes from LendingTree, which last week released the results of an analysis of US Census Bureau data, aimed at locating it in one of the 50 US metropolitan areas.

“We found in these 50 subways that on average nearly 19% of homeowners aged 65 and over still have a mortgage,” the results indicate. “Beyond that, we also found that homes owned by people in this age group tend to be less valuable than those owned by the general population – and their monthly housing costs tend to be lower. “

The largest share of homeowners over 65 with mortgages in the United States is concentrated in three metropolitan areas in two states: Miami, Florida and Sacramento and Los Angeles, California. In these regions, nearly a quarter of senior residents – 23.64% – have an active traditional mortgage.

According to census data, three subways in the Texas area – Houston, Austin and Dallas – contain the smallest share of senior homeowners with active term mortgages, accounting for 13.71% in those areas, according to census data. . In terms of “catch”, these are retirement homes with less comparative value than the general population. This is not, however, a universal constant.

“In the 50 largest subways in the country, homes of older owners are worth an average of $ 10,626 less than homes owned by the general population,” according to the results. “That being said, the disparity in value varies by metro, and there are a handful of areas where homes owned by seniors are worth more than homes owned by the general population.”

Another point concerns the housing costs of the elderly compared to other members of the population. According to Census Bureau data, seniors generally have lower costs associated with their housing situation.

“In the 50 largest metros in the country, the average total monthly housing costs for homeowners 65 and over with a mortgage are $ 268 less than for the general population,” the results show.

Read the results of the Census Bureau data analysis on LendingTree.