Tag Archives: Underwater

Despite the declining share of underwater mortgages as a percentage of all mortgages in the U.S., which has fallen below 8 percent, about four million borrowers are still underwater, according to Black Knight Financial Services' October 2014 Mortgage Monitor released today.

While the overall rise in equity marks another positive step forward for the housing market, it's undercut by the fact that nearly 9 million homes are "under-equitied," meaning the properties have less than 20 percent equity. Out of that group, 1.3 million have less than 5 percent equity, putting them just barely above water.

Nearly 43 percent of homeowners between 35 and 49 are underwater on their mortgages. In contrast, only 15 percent of millennial homeowners (those between 20 and 34 years old) and 31 percent of baby boomers (50 to 64 years old) are underwater.

Zillow released its Negative Equity Report for the first quarter, revealing an estimated 9.7 million homeowners continue to owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth. That number, down from about 9.8 million in Q4 2013, represents about 18.8 percent of mortgage-paying Americans, according to Zillow.

9.1 million U.S. residential properties were seriously underwater in the first quarter of 2014, according to RealtyTrac's U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report. Seriously underwater properties, which are homes where the combined loan amount secured by the property is at least 25 percent higher than the property's estimated market value, represented 17 percent of all properties with a mortgage.