CoreLogic: Homeowner Equity Increases to Near All-Time High in Q1

(Image courtesy of CoreLogic; Breakout image courtesy of Anfisa Eremina/pexels.com)

CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., released its Homeowner Equity Insights Report for the first quarter, finding that U.S. homeowners with mortgages saw home equity increase by 9.6% year-over-year.

That represents a collective gain of $1.5 trillion and an average increase of $28,000 per borrower.

“With home prices continuing to reach new highs, owners are also seeing their equity approach the historic peaks of 2023, close to a total of $305,000 per owner. Importantly, higher prices have also lifted some 190,000 homeowners out of negative equity, leaving only about 1.8% of those with mortgages underwater,” said Selma Hepp, CoreLogic Chief Economist. “Home equity is key to mortgage holders who have seen other homeownership costs soar, including insurance, taxes and HOA fees, as a source of financial buffer. Also, low amounts of negative equity are welcomed in markets that have shown price weaknesses this spring, such as Florida (1.1% of homes underwater) and Texas (1.7% of homes underwater)–both of which are below the national rate–as further price declines could drive more homeowners to lose their equity.”

The total number of mortgaged residential properties with negative equity decreased by 2.1% from the previous quarter, representing 1.8% of all mortgage properties or roughly 1 million homes.

On a year-over-year basis, negative equity declined by 16.1% from 1.2 million homes, or 2.1% of all mortgage properties in Q1 2023.

The national aggregate value of negative equity was $321 billion at the end of the first quarter. That’s down by about $2.8 billion, or 1% from $324 billion the fourth quarter. It’s also down $17.6 billion, or 5%, from $339 billion in the first quarter of 2023.

Homeowners in California saw the largest equity gain at $64,000. The Los Angeles metro area topped that, with homeowners seeing $72,000 in gains year-over-year.