Housing equity spiked 30% -- more than $2 trillion – over the last year as home prices and purchases rose and outstanding mortgages declined
Housing equity spiked 30% -- more than $2 trillion – over the last year as home prices and purchases rose and outstanding mortgages declined, according to a report released Friday by the National Association of Realtors.
Outstanding mortgage debt fell by a little under $200bn this year. The market value of housing real estate, on the other hand, surged in 2013, topping $18.6 trillion, according to NAR.
Despite the rise in housing prices, household real estate’s total value is still about 18% below its 2006 peak. That fact, along with declining mortgage debt, makes it unlikely that another housing bubble is on the horizon, according to NAR.
All-cash or high-cash purchases are also on the rise, accounting for 29% of transactions in July, according to NAR.
