Property data curator ATTOM released its first-quarter 2024 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report, which showed 45.8 percent of mortgaged residential properties were considered equity-rich in the first quarter, meaning that the combined estimated amount of loan balances secured by those properties was no more than half of their estimated market values.
The portion of mortgaged homes that were equity-rich in the first quarter is down from 46.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, marking the third straight quarterly decline. The latest figure also was down from 47.2 percent in the first quarter of 2023, hitting the lowest point in two years.
At the same time, the report showed the portion of mortgaged homes that were seriously underwater rose slightly in the first few months of 2024, from 2.6 percent to 2.7 percent of all residential mortgages.
Seriously underwater mortgages are those with combined estimated balances of loans secured by properties that are at least 25 percent more than those properties’ estimated market values.
“Homeowner balance sheets continue to benefit in a huge way from the boom times in the form of elevated equity that can be used to help finance all kinds of things, from home renovations to business startups,” ATTOM CEO Rob Barber said in a release. “Still, the windfalls are starting to erode bit by bit amid mounting signs that the market is no longer so super-heated. It’s too early to make any broad statements about the market direction, especially coming off the typically slower fall and winter months. But amid the recent trends, this year’s spring buying season will be of heightened importance in telling us if there is a new long-term market pattern developing.”
The latest equity drop-offs emerged as the national median single-family home and condo value slipped 4 percent over the winter and was up just a modest 3 percent year-over-year during the first quarter. When prices flatten out or drop, equity usually follows, even as homeowners pay off mortgages, according to ATTOM. That’s because equity is based on mortgage debt as a portion of estimated property values.
Heading into the spring buying season, the market faces a mix of forces that could drive it back up or hold it steady. Those forces include a tight supply of homes for sale and a strong investment market but also mortgage interest rates that have climbed back above 7 percent for a 30-year loan on top of home prices that remain a financial stretch for average wage earners, ATTOM said.
The full report can be found here.