ATTOM: Share of Equity-Rich Homes Down in Q3

(Image courtesy of Ibrahim Boran/pexels.com)

ATTOM, Irvine, Calif., released its third-quarter 2025 U.S. Home Equity and Underwater Report, finding that 46.1% of mortgaged residential properties were equity-rich.

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

That’s down from 47.4% in Q2. It’s also a decrease from 48.3% in Q3 2024.

Additionally, 2.8% of mortgaged residential properties in the U.S. were defined as seriously underwater, compared with 2.7% in Q2 and 2.5% last year.

ATTOM defines seriously underwater as when the combined estimated balance of loans secured by the properties is at least 25% more than the properties’ estimated market value.

“Over the past year, the share of equity-rich homes has eased slightly while the portion of seriously underwater properties has edged up,” said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM. “After several years of strong equity growth that peaked in 2022, homeowner equity levels appear to be stabilizing. The modest fluctuations seen over the last few quarters may suggest a housing market that’s finding balance after an extended period of appreciation.”

The states with the largest year-over-year increases in the share of equity-rich homes included Alaska (up from 31.9% in Q3 2024 to 34.3% in Q3 2025); Illinois (up from 34% to 35.8%); New Jersey (up from 52% to 53.8%); New York (up from 55.2% to 57%) and Connecticut (up from 47.7% to 49.1%).

The states with the largest annual increases in their proportion of seriously underwater homes included Washington, D.C., (up from 3.3% in Q3 2024 to 5.1%); Maryland (up from 2.4% to 3.5%), Louisiana (up from 10.1% to 11.2%); Georgia (up from 2.6% to 3.6%); and Oklahoma (up from 4.8% to 5.4%).