ATTOM: Share of Equity-Rich Homes Increases

(Image courtesy of Erik Mclean/pexels.com)

ATTOM, Irvine, Calif.,  released its second-quarter 2024 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report, revealing that 49.2% of mortgaged residential properties in the U.S. were considered equity-rich.

ATTOM defines equity-rich as the combined estimated amount of loan balances secured by those properties being no more than half of their estimated market values.

The most recent quarter’s result is an increase from 45.8% in Q1 and reversed a series of three straight quarterly declines.

The portion of homes that are seriously underwater declined to 2.4% in the quarter, down from 2.7% last quarter and the lowest level since at least 2019.

ATTOM defines seriously underwater mortgages as those with combined estimated balances of loans secured by properties that are at least 25% more than those properties’ estimated market values.

The equity gains come amid another spike in home prices, with the median national home price up 9% to a new record of $365,000.

“Homeowner wealth took a notable turn for the better during the second quarter as equity levels piggybacked on some of the biggest home-price spikes we’ve seen in recent years,” said Rob Barber, CEO for ATTOM. “After a period where equity seemed stagnant or even declining, this brought another boost of good news for homeowners from the enduring housing market boom. Supplies of homes for sale remain limited these days and buyer demand is typically elevated during the summertime. So, it should be no surprise if home values go even higher and take equity along for the ride.”

The biggest quarterly increase of equity-rich homes were in Kentucky (from 28.7% in Q1 to 37.4% in Q2), Illinois (from 28.3% to 36.1%) and Missouri (from 38.3% to 45.5%). Only two states–Utah and South Carolina, both flat–didn’t see increases in equity-rich levels.

The largest decreases in seriously underwater mortgages were in Wyoming (down from 8.8% in Q1 to 2.5% in Q2), Kentucky (down from 8.3% to 6.3%) and Illinois (down from 5.2% to 4%.)

Two states did have slight increases in the percentage of seriously underwater homes–Utah (up from 2.1% to 2.2%) and South Dakota (up from 3% to 3.1%).