Homeowner Equity Continues to Rise

Jun 08, 2017

More than 1.5 million home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) will see interest-only draw periods end this year, with payments becoming fully amortizing, according to new data from Black Knight Financial Services (BKFS)

Homeowners with mortgages enjoyed a year-over-year equity increase totaling $766.4 billion in the first quarter, according to new data from CoreLogic. On average, homeowners gained approximately $13,400 in equity between from the first quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year.

Simultaneously, the total number of mortgaged residential properties with negative equity dropped by three percent from 3.1 million homes in the fourth quarter of 2016 (6.1 percent of all mortgaged properties). On a year-over-year measurement, negative equity decreased 24 percent from 4.1 million homes (8.1 percent of all mortgaged properties).

Texas had the highest percentage of homes with positive equity at 98.4 percent, followed by Utah (98.2 percent), Washington (98.2 percent), Hawaii (98.1 percent) and Colorado (98 percent). Nevada had the highest percentage of homes with negative equity at 12.4 percent, followed by Florida (11.1 percent), Illinois (10.5 percent), New Jersey (10.2 percent) and Connecticut (9.9 percent). The San Francisco metro area had the highest percentage of mortgaged properties in a positive equity position at 99.4 percent.

"Homeowner equity increased by over $750 billion during the last year, the largest increase since mid-2014," said Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic. "The rising cushion of home equity is one of the main drivers of improved mortgage performance. It also supports consumer balance sheets, spending and the broader economy."

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Phil Hall

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Jun 08, 2017

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