IRVINE, CA—Many of the homes with the most equity in the nation are concentrated in the western states, according to new research from ATTOM Data Solutions. The firm reports that the states with the highest share of equity-rich properties at the end of Q2 included Hawaii, California and Oregon.

In its Q2 2017 US Home Equity & Underwater Report, released today, the firm reports that at the end of the quarter, there were more than 14 million US properties that were equity rich—defined as those where the combined loan amount secured by the property was 50% or less of the estimated market value of the property. This figure was up by nearly 320,000 properties from the previous quarter and up by more than 1.6 million properties from a year ago, indicating a nationwide trend toward homeownership health.

Moreover, among 91 MSAs with a population of 500,000 or more, those with the highest share of equity-rich properties at the end of Q2 were San Jose, San Francisco, L.A., Honolulu and Portland, OR, showing a strong concentration in the west. States with the highest share of equity include Hawaii, California, New York, Vermont and Oregon.

Among 7,192 US zip codes with at least 2,500 people, however, the trend moved eastward; those zip codes with the highest share of equity-rich properties were 15201 in Pittsburgh; 11220 in Brooklyn, NY; 11228 in Brooklyn, NY; 78207 in San Antonio; and 11355 in Flushing, NY.

According to Daren Blomquist, SVP for ATTOM Data Solutions, “An increasing number of US homeowners are amassing impressive stockpiles of home-equity wealth, enjoying the benefits of rapidly rising home prices while staying conservative when it comes to cashing out on their equity—homeowners are staying in their homes nearly twice as long before selling as they were prior to the Great Recession, and the volume of home-equity lines of credit are running about one-third of the level they were at during the last housing boom.”

However, Blomquist adds, this home-equity wealth is unevenly distributed across different geographies, value ranges, occupancy statuses and lengths of ownership, with a disproportionately high equity-rich share among high-end properties, investor-owned properties and properties owned for more than 20 years. GlobeSt.com was unable to reach Blomquist before deadline for comment on why a large share of equity-rich properties are concentrated in western markets.

The 5.4 million seriously underwater properties in the report represented 9.5% of all properties with a mortgage, down from 9.7% in the previous quarter and down from 11.9% in Q2 2016. This seriously underwater figure was also down significantly from the 13.3% of all properties with a mortgage that GlobeSt.com reported in August 2015.

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Equity-Rich Homes Concentrated in the West

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