Homeowners’ equity in their houses has been rising across the country, according to ATTOM Data Solutions, which maintains a national property database.
ATTOM’s fourth quarter 2020 update shows “that 17.8 million residential properties in the United States were considered equity-rich, meaning that the combined estimated amount of loans secured by those properties was 50 percent or less of their estimated market value.
“The count of equity-rich properties in the fourth quarter of 2020 represented 30.2 percent, or about one in three, of the 59 million mortgaged homes in the United States,” ATTOM said in releasing its report. “That was up from 28.3 percent in the third quarter of 2020, 27.5 percent in the second quarter and 26.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019, despite the ongoing economic damage caused by the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic.”
It’s the best year of the decade, the firm reported.
But while states like California, Arizona, Idaho, Montana and Vermont saw their numbers improve markedly — the number of “equity-rich” homes in California jumped 6% to 46.1% — Alabama languished in the lower reaches nationwide.
Alabama’s percentage of equity-rich homes stands at 19.8%.
And it didn’t see a headline-making increase in underwater mortgages — those where homeowners owe more than the value of the home — as did Connecticut, Nebraska, North Dakota and Massachusetts.
“The good news is that fewer and fewer homeowners across the country are underwater on their loans,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of RealtyTrac, an ATTOM Data Solutions company. “But for those homeowners who are, the uncertainty of the economy during the pandemic looms large. The dual-trigger effect of losing a job and being underwater on a mortgage often unfortunately leads to a foreclosure.”
Homeowners’ equity in their houses has been rising across the country, according to ATTOM Data Solutions, which maintains a national property database.
ATTOM’s fourth quarter 2020 update shows “that 17.8 million residential properties in the United States were considered equity-rich, meaning that the combined estimated amount of loans secured by those properties was 50 percent or less of their estimated market value.
“The count of equity-rich properties in the fourth quarter of 2020 represented 30.2 percent, or about one in three, of the 59 million mortgaged homes in the United States,” ATTOM said in releasing its report. “That was up from 28.3 percent in the third quarter of 2020, 27.5 percent in the second quarter and 26.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019, despite the ongoing economic damage caused by the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic.”
It’s the best year of the decade, the firm reported.
But while states like California, Arizona, Idaho, Montana and Vermont saw their numbers improve markedly — the number of “equity-rich” homes in California jumped 6% to 46.1% — Alabama languished in the lower reaches nationwide.
Alabama’s percentage of equity-rich homes stands at 19.8%.
And it didn’t see a headline-making increase in underwater mortgages — those where homeowners owe more than the value of the home — as did Connecticut, Nebraska, North Dakota and Massachusetts.
“The good news is that fewer and fewer homeowners across the country are underwater on their loans,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of RealtyTrac, an ATTOM Data Solutions company. “But for those homeowners who are, the uncertainty of the economy during the pandemic looms large. The dual-trigger effect of losing a job and being underwater on a mortgage often unfortunately leads to a foreclosure.”
