It’s a good time to be a homeowner: The share of equity-rich residential properties zoomed to a total of 14.4 million, shows the 2019 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report from ATTOM Data Solutions. Nearly 27% of all properties with a mortgage in the U.S. are now considered “equity rich,” meaning the combined estimated amount of loans secured by those properties was 50% or less of their estimated market value.
“There are notable equity gaps between regions and market segments,” says Todd Teta, chief product officer with ATTOM Data Solutions. “But as home values keep climbing, homeowners are seeing their equity building more and more, while those with properties still worth a lot less than their mortgages represent just a small segment of the market.”
The highest levels of equity-rich properties are all in the Northeast and Western regions of the U.S. The metros with the highest shares are in San Jose (62.7%), San Francisco (51.1%), Los Angeles (46.6%), Santa Rosa, Calif. (46.5%), and Honolulu (39.4%), the report finds. In the Northeast, the equity leader was Boston (at 35.4% of properties). In the south, Dallas had the most equity-rich properties at 38.2%, while Grand Rapids, Mich., led in the Midwest at 27.8%.
Source: ATTOM Data Solutions
