Escalating home prices over the past eight years have propelled equity to record highs nationally, CoreLogic reports. Homeowners in nearly every state in the country have seen their equity grow. The West is seeing the largest growth. For example, Idaho homeowners gained an average of $22,000 per borrower; Wyoming owners saw a $20,000 gain; and Nevada owners saw a $17,000 increase, according to CoreLogic’s Home Equity Insights report.
Only three states—Connecticut, Delaware, and North Dakota—have seen a decrease in borrower equity over the past year, according to the report. Meanwhile, by the end of the second quarter, 3.8% of all homes with a mortgage were underwater, the lowest negative equity share since CoreLogic began tracking such data in 2009. In the fourth quarter of 2009, that percentage peaked at 26%.
Source: “Years of Home Price Growth Drives Negative Equity to New Lows,” CoreLogic Insights Blog (Oct. 31, 2019) and “Homeowner Equity Insights,” CoreLogic (October 2019)