Equity Situation Bodes Well for Housing

CoreLogic is based in Irvine, CA.

IRVINE, CA—Nationwide, home equity increased year-over-year by $762 billion in Q1, bringing the number of mortgaged residential properties with equity at the end of the quarter to 92% of all mortgaged properties, according to CoreLogic. A recent analysis shows that 268,00 homeowners regained equity in Q1; the total number of mortgaged residential properties with equity at the end of the quarter was approximately 46.7 million.

In addition, negative equity—often referred to as “underwater” or “upside down” and applying to borrowers who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth—decreased 6.2% quarter-over-quarter from 5.1 million homes (10.3% of total mortgage inventory), in Q4 2015 to 4.3 million homes (8% of total mortgage inventory) at the end of Q1 2016. These findings bode well for the housing industry.