Third quarter negative equity report
As of the third quarter, 10.7 million mortgages are underwater, 22.1 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage, according to CoreLogic. The number of homes with negative equity is down from 10.9 million in the second quarter.
Beyond those that are underwater, an additional 2.4 million borrowers a near-negative equity with under 5 percent equity in the third quarter. Near-negative equity homes and negative equity homes now account for 27.1 percent of all U.S. homes with a mortgage.
Nevada has the highest negative equity percentage with 58 percent of all of its mortgaged properties underwater, followed by Arizona (47 percent), Florida (44 percent), Michigan (35 percent) and for their first time featured in the top five is Georgia (30 percent).
“Although slightly down, negative equity remains very high and renders many borrowers vulnerable when negative economic shocks occur, such as job loss or illness. The nearly $700 billion mortgage debt overhang has touched many corners of the market, and this overhang is holding back the recovery of the housing market and broader economy,” said Mark Fleming, CoreLogic’s chief economist.
