Discharges of reverse mortgages jumped 44 per cent in 2013 - up from A$350 million in 2012 to $504 million. The high discharge rate meant that there was no growth in outstanding reverse mortgage balances last year.Twelve per cent of borrowers made a full discharge of their mortgages last year and 2.1 per cent made a partial discharge. The number was up from an average of around ten per cent a year over the past few years. According to the latest Deloitte reverse mortgage market report, new loan settlements were down a little in 2013 - from $305 million in 2012 to $302 million. Additional drawdowns fell from $65 million to $47 million, while capitalised interest was around $155 million.Reverse mortgage balances stood at $3.56 billion at the end of last year, unchanged from the previous year.Deloitte financial services partner James Hickey said the increase in discharges may have been due to the strong increase in house prices last year prompting more retirees to sell their properties.Hickey said the high discharge rate was not all bad news; one thing it showed was that older people were using reverse mortgages as a part of their retirement income strategy and were actively managing their exposures."The image of the typical reverse mortgage customer as an 85-year old widow falling back on her last source of income and then forgetting about the loan is a myth," Hickey said.The average loan size was $86,000, with 94 per cent taken as lump sum drawdowns rather than income streams. Ninety per cent of all outstanding loans are variable interest.Among borrowers, the major age segment is 70 to 79, which makes up 48 per cent of the market. People under age 65 make up nine per cent, the 65 to 69 segment makes up 15 per cent and the over-80s make up 28 per cent. The average age of new borrowers last year was 75.One positive development for the sector has been the entry of Macquarie Bank into the market earlier this year. Macquarie said it was responding to broker demand for product.Hickey said there was feedback from brokers that there was some unmet demand in the market because of a lack of product. "Pre-GFC there were more loans designed for brokers," he said."The opportunity is there, although the challenge is to improve education and awareness."