Despite the ongoing recovery of the real estate market, nearly 4 million American homeowners still find themselves “underwater” on their mortgages, meaning they owe more on their homes than they’re currently valued at. These homeowners collectively account for approximately $579 billion in negative equity, as reported by Zillow. It is worth mentioning these homeowners may be the most challenging segment to liberate from negative equity, according to Zillow’s chief economist, Stan Humphries.
On the brighter side, the situation is significantly better than it was when we peek at the height of the housing crisis, where a whopping 15 million homes were in negative equity. The national negative equity rate has dipped to 15.4% of all homes with mortgages in the first quarter, a notable improvement from the 18.8% over the same period last year.
You can explore more details on Market Watch.
Courtesy of Photo: U.S. Geological Survey
