Homeowners with mortgages see year-over-year equity gains

Homeowner equity has doubled over the last five years as mortgage risk declined

Homeowners with mortgages see year-over-year equity gains
Homeowners with mortgages saw an overall gain of $766 billion in their home equity during the second quarter from the year-ago period, or an increase of 10.6%, according to the second-quarter home equity analysis released by CoreLogic.

On average, the year-over-year gain is $12,987 for each homeowner. The biggest increases were seen in Western states as higher home prices drove equity gains. Homeowners in Washington saw average home equity gains of about $40,000, while California homeowners gained an average of $30,000 in home equity.

The quarter also posted a year-over-year decrease in the number of homes with negative equity. During the period, 2.8 million homes – representing 5.4% of all mortgage properties – were underwater, a 21.9% decrease from the 3.6 million homes that were underwater in the second quarter of 2016. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, homes with negative equity decreased 10%.

“Over the last 12 months, approximately 750,000 borrowers achieved positive equity,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “This means that mortgage risk continues to decline and, given the continued strength in home prices, CoreLogic expects home equity to rise steadily over the next year.”

At the end of the quarter, there was an approximately $284.4 billion aggregate value of national negative equity, an increase by 0.1% or about $200 from the $284.2 billion aggregate in the first quarter but a decrease by 0.2% or about $700 million from the $285.1 billion in the year-ago quarter.

“Homeowner equity reached $8 trillion in the second quarter of 2017, which is more than double the level just five years ago,” said Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “The rapid rise in homeowner equity not only reduces mortgage risk, but also supports consumer spending and economic growth.”


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