CoreLogic is reporting that in the 3rd quarter of 2015 mortgaged residential properties with negative equity stood at 4.1 million, or 8.1%. That figure was down 20.7% year over year from 5.2 million homes, or 10.4% , compared with 3rd quarter of 2014. Negative equity (aka “underwater” or “upside down”) means that more is owed on mortgages than the home is worth. A decline in home value, an increase in mortgage debt or a combination of the two can bring on this situation.
“Home price growth continued to lift borrower equity positions and increase the number of borrowers with sufficient equity to participate in the mortgage market,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “In Q3 2015 there were 37.5 million borrowers with at least 20 percent equity, up 7 percent from 35 million in Q3 2014. In the last three years, borrowers with at least 20 percent equity have increased by 11 million, a substantial uptick that is driving rapid growth in home equity originations.”
