Senior home equity increased $46 billion in the third quarter of 2011, according to data released on Wednesday by the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) and the RiskSpan Reverse Mortgage Market Index (RMMI).

In the third quarter of 2011, senior home equity went up 1.5% to 152.0, for a total of $3.19 trillion of available home equity, the NRMLA/RMMI report says.

“This data further demonstrates that the home must be considered as part of the funding longevity equation.  Reverse mortgages are a creative tool to help seniors better use the assets they have to safely fund retirement,” said Peter Bell, President and CEO of NRMLA, in a statement.

In the third quarter, housing prices in nearly 70% of the 295 metropolitan statistical areas tracked by the Federal Housing Finance Agency and RiskSpan posted positive quarter-over-quarter growth, nudging aggregate senior housing values up 1% to $4.2 trillion, according to NRMLA.

Meanwhile, senior mortgage debt levels fell for the 10th quarter in a row, standing at $1.02 trillion and leaving seniors with $3.19 trillion in equity.

“The home is, by far, the largest financial asset most families have for use in retirement,” Bell said. “Reverse mortgages have evolved from a circumstance-based product to an accepted forward looking tool used for financial planning.”

Written by Alyssa Gerace