The number of home owners underwater on their mortgage — owing more than their home is currently worth — continues to drop, but “sand states” still account for the highest number of borrowers facing negative equity.
Twenty-two percent of all residential properties with a mortgage—or about 10.7 million home owners—were underwater by the end of the third quarter for 2012, according to CoreLogic data. From September 2011 to September 2012, 1.4 million home owners had moved from negative equity to positive equity.
Rising home prices are pushing more Americans above water, as they once again see equity in their homes after five years of a downward housing market.
The following five states had the highest number of underwater mortgages and accounted for 34 percent of the total amount of negative equity in the entire country:
- Nevada: 56.9% properties were in negative equity (was 61.2% in July 2012)
- Florida: 42.1% (was 45.1% July 2012)
- Arizona: 38.6% (was 43.4% July 2012, dropped the most.)
- Georgia: 35.6% (was 37.2%)
- Michigan: 32% (was 35.6%)
Adopted from Real Estate Economy Watch.
