10.5 Million Retirement-Age Americans Still Have a Mortgage [New LendingTree Study]

It’s often recommended that homeowners pay off their mortgage balances before retiring. But paying off a mortgage before retirement age isn’t feasible for everyone. 

To better understand where homeowners are likely to pay off their mortgage near or past their retirement age, LendingTree analyzed the latest housing data. We found that across each of the nation’s 50 largest metros nearly 20% of all homes with mortgages are owned by someone 65 or older. Here's what else we found.

• Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Diego have the largest share of homes with mortgages owned by people 65 and older. Across these metros, 25% of mortgages are owned by someone 65+.
• Austin, Texas, Dallas and Salt Lake City have the smallest share of homes with mortgages owned by 65-and-older homeowners. Only 14.64% are owned by people 65 and older.
• California metros tend to have larger shares of housing units with mortgages owned by people 65 and older, while Texas metros tend to have smaller shares. 
• Houses owned by people 65 and older are typically worth less than those owned by the general homeowner population.

You can check out the full report here: https://www.lendingtree.com/home/mortgage/older-homeowners-study/

LendingTree's Senior Economist and report author, Jacob Channel, had this to say:

"While it might not be ideal, getting a mortgage later in life isn’t necessarily a bad idea. Older homebuyers tend to have better credit and more financial resources than younger buyers do. As a result, waiting until later in life to get a mortgage can help you snag a better rate and a lower monthly payment than you would’ve gotten had you bought earlier."