ATTOM’s fourth-quarter 2025 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report showed 44.6 percent of mortgaged residential properties were considered equity-rich in the fourth quarter, meaning that the combined estimated amount of loan balances secured by those properties was no more than half of their estimated market values.
That level was down slightly from 46.1 percent in the third quarter of 2025 and off from the recent peak of 49.2 percent in the second quarter of 2024. Even so, the fourth quarter of 2025 marked the lowest share of equity-rich properties since the fourth quarter of 2021.
On the other end of the spectrum, there was a modest uptick in serious underwater properties. In the fourth quarter of 2025, 3 percent of mortgaged homes fell into that category, up from 2.8 percent in the third quarter, representing properties where combined estimated loan balances exceeded estimated market values by at least 25 percent.
“After years of rapid gains, homeowner equity is settling into a more sustainable range, and that’s not a negative sign for the market,” Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM, said in a release. “Even with a modest pullback in equity-rich properties and a slight uptick in seriously underwater homes, overall equity levels remain remarkably strong by historical standards. As we move toward the spring buying season, these numbers suggest a housing market that is stabilizing rather than overheating, giving homeowners a solid financial foundation while allowing for healthier market dynamics.”
The portion of mortgaged homes that were equity-rich during the fourth quarter of 2025, 44.6 percent, remained far above the 26.5 percent level recorded in early 2020. While the latest figure was down in 42 of the U.S. states from the third quarter to the fourth quarter of 2025, mostly by less than two percentage points, and down annually in 42 states.
The annual decreases were led by Florida (portion of mortgaged homes considered equity-rich decreased from 50.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 43.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025), Kentucky (down from 38.5 percent to 32.1 percent), South Carolina (down from 46.7 percent to 40.9 percent), New Mexico (down from 49.6 percent to 44 percent) and Arizona (down from 50.9 percent to 45.4 percent).
On the opposite side of the spectrum, equity-rich levels increased slightly across a broad cross section, with a concentration in the Northeast and Midwest but coverage across all major regions. The largest year-over-year increases during the fourth quarter of 2025 came in Alaska (up, year-over-year, from 31.5 percent to 33.5 percent), North Dakota (up from 32.4 percent to 33.7 percent), Illinois (up from 33 percent to 33.7 percent), South Dakota (up from 52.3 percent to 52.8 percent) and New York (up from 54.9 percent to 55.4 percent).
The share of mortgaged homes considered seriously underwater changed only marginally in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to ATTOM’s report. At 3 percent, the rate edged up slightly from the prior quarter but remained near historically low levels, underscoring continued stability in homeowner equity positions nationwide.
The biggest annual improvements in seriously underwater mortgages came in North Dakota (share of mortgaged homes that were seriously underwater down from 4.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 4.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025), South Dakota (down from 3.2 percent to 2.9 percent), Wyoming (down from 2.4 percent to 2.3 percent), and Idaho (down from 2.7 percent to 2.6 percent).
The largest year-over-year increases in the percentage of seriously underwater homes during the fourth quarter of 2025 were in Mississippi (up from 6.4 percent to 8.3 percent), Kentucky (up from 6.1 percent to 7.9 percent), District of Columbia (up from 3.2 percent to 4.4 percent), Louisiana (up from 9.5 percent to 10.7 percent) and Maryland (up from 2.6 percent to 3.7 percent).
In the fourth quarter of 2025, states posting the highest shares of equity-rich mortgaged homes were largely concentrated in the Northeast and West, highlighting the influence of higher home values and long-term price growth in those regions. Vermont led the nation by a wide margin, with 87 percent of mortgaged homes classified as equity-rich, followed by New Hampshire (60.2 percent), Rhode Island (59.4 percent), Maine (58.1 percent) and Montana (57.3 percent). Other states with more than half of mortgaged homes equity-rich included New York, Massachusetts, Hawaii, California and Idaho.
States with the lowest equity-rich rates were more commonly found in the Midwest and South. Louisiana ranked last at 20.1 percent, with Maryland (28.4 percent), the District of Columbia (30 percent), Kentucky (32.1 percent), and Iowa (32.9 percent) also posting relatively low shares. Alaska, North Dakota, Illinois and Oklahoma each recorded equity-rich levels below 35 percent, underscoring regional disparities in homeowner equity across the country.
Among the 1,753 counties with at least 2,500 mortgaged homes in the fourth quarter of 2025, the counties with the highest shares of equity-rich properties were concentrated in the midwest. Many of the top ranked locations were in Michigan and Wisconsin, alongside a smaller number in neighboring midwestern states, reinforcing the region’s prominence among the nation’s most equity-rich counties.
Counties with the highest share of equity-rich properties were Benzie County (Beulah), Mich. (94.2 percent); Manistee County, Mich. (92.2 percent); Marquette, Mich. (91.8 percent); Chittenden, Vt. (91.1 percent); and Portage County (Stevens Point), Wisc. (90.5 percent).
Counties with populations of at least 500,000 and the highest equity-rich levels were Santa Clara County (San Jose), Calif. (66.3 percent equity-rich); Orange County, Calif. (outside Los Angeles) (65.9 percent); San Mateo County, Calif. (64.1 percent); Nassau County, N.Y. (63.8 percent); and Suffolk County, N.Y. (63.1 percent).
The 20 counties with the smallest share of equity-rich homes in the fourth quarter of 2025 were concentrated in the south, with a heavy clustering in Louisiana and additional representation across Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia and Oklahoma. The lowest were in Vernon Parish (Leesville), La. (7.6 percent equity-rich); Lauderdale, Miss. (9.6 percent); Greenup County, Ky. (10.1 percent); Long County, Ga. (south of Savannah) (11.1 percent); and Finney County, Kan. (12 percent).
Counties with populations of at least 500,000 and the smallest equity-rich portions were Baltimore City/County, Md. (22.2 percent equity-rich); Prince George’s County, Md. (outside Washington D.C.) (23.4 percent); Anne Arundel County, Md. (outside Baltimore) (26.4 percent); Baltimore County, Md. (27.5 percent) and District of Columbia (30 percent).
Among 9,073 U.S. zip codes that had at least 2,000 residential properties with mortgages in the fourth quarter of 2025, there were 2,927 (32.3 percent) where at least half the mortgaged residential properties were equity-rich.
Among the top 50 zip codes, the largest share was concentrated in California, which accounted for 19, followed by Massachusetts with six, making those two states the most heavily represented overall.