During the third quarter of 2018, nearly 14.5 million U.S. properties had a combined estimated amount of loans secured by the property that was 50 percent or less of the property’s market value, according to ATTOM Data Solutions.
ATTOM’s Q3 2018 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report found the number of equity rich properties during the third quarter was up by more than 433,000 from a year ago to a new high, as far back as data is available.
The number of equity rich properties represented 25.7 percent of all properties with a mortgage, up from 24.9 percent in the previous quarter but down from 26.4 percent one year ago.
“As homeowners stay put longer, they continue to build more equity in their homes despite the recent slowing in rates of home price appreciation,” ATTOM Data Solutions Senior Vice President Daren Blomquist said in a release. “West Coast markets, along with New York, have the highest share of equity rich homeowners while markets in the Mississippi Valley and Rust Belt continue to have stubbornly high rates of seriously underwater homeowners when it comes to home equity.”
According to the report, more than 4.9 million U.S. properties were seriously underwater during the third quarter, where the combined estimated balance of loans secured by the property was at least 25 percent higher than the property’s estimated market value. The percentage of seriously underwater homes was down from 9.3 percent in the previous quarter but still up from 8.7 percent one year ago.
The report said the states with the highest share of equity rich properties during the third quarter were California (42.5 percent); Hawaii (39.4 percent); Washington (35.3 percent); New York (34.9 percent); and Oregon (33.6 percent).
The metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with the highest share of equity rich properties in the third quarter were San Jose, Calif. (73.9 percent); San Francisco (59.8 percent); Los Angeles (47.6 percent); Seattle (41.2 percent); and Honolulu (40.8 percent), the report found.
ATTOM said the states with the highest share of seriously underwater properties in the third quarter were Louisiana (21.3 percent); Mississippi (16.2 percent); Iowa (15.5 percent); Arkansas (15.3 percent); and Illinois (15.1 percent). The MSAs with the highest share of seriously underwater properties were Baton Rouge, La. (20.7 percent); Youngstown, Ohio (18.7 percent); New Orleans (18.6 percent); Scranton, Pa. (18.3 percent); and Toledo, Ohio (17.7 percent).