Nearly one quarter of U.S. properties were equity rich at the end of the second quarter, with loan amounts 50 percent of less of the estimated value of the property, according ATTOM Data Solutions’ Q2 2017 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report.
The report said there were 14,038 million U.S. properties that were equity rich — which is1.6 million more properties than one year ago. The 14 million equity-rich properties represent 24.6 percent of all properties, up from 22.1 percent one year ago.
The report also found that more than 5.4 million U.S. properties were seriously underwater at the end of the second quarter, with combined loan amounts at least 25 percent higher than the property’s estimated market value. The number of homes seriously underwater declined by more than 1.2 million from a year ago.
“An increasing number of U.S. homeowners are amassing impressive stockpiles of home equity wealth, enjoying the benefits of rapidly rising home prices while staying conservative when it comes to cashing out on their equity,” ATTOM Data Solutions Senior Vice President Daren Blomquist said in a release.
“Homeowners are staying in their homes nearly twice as long before selling as they were prior to the Great Recession, and the volume of home equity lines of credit are running about one-third of the level they were at during the last housing boom,” Blomquist added. “However, this home equity wealth is unevenly distributed across different geographies, value ranges, occupancy statuses and lengths of ownership, with a disproportionately high equity rich share among high-end properties, investor-owned properties and properties owned for more than 20 years.”
According to the report, states with the highest share of equity rich properties at the end of Q2 2017 were Hawaii (38.3 percent); California (36.6 percent); New York (34.2 percent); Vermont (33.5 percent); and Oregon (32.2 percent).
Metropolitan with the highest share of equity rich properties were San Jose, Calif. (52 percent); San Francisco (47 percent); Los Angeles (40 percent); Honolulu (40 percent); and Portland, Ore. (35 percent).
The report identified the states with the highest share of seriously underwater properties as Nevada (17.4 percent); Louisiana (17.1 percent); Illinois (16.8 percent); Ohio (16.5 percent); and Indiana (16.4 percent).
The metropolitan areas with the highest share of seriously underwater properties were Cleveland (21.8 percent); Baton Rouge, La. (21 percent); Akron, Ohio (20.5 percent); Las Vegas (20.2 percent); and Toledo, Ohio (20.2 percent).