29 percent of homeowners with mortgages have negative equity
in their homes. According to a report released today by Zillow, that percentage
is down a bit from the fourth quarter of 2011 when the percentage of mortgaged
homes that were underwater was 30.2 percent. Among the homeowners who were
underwater, 6.1 percent were 90 days or more delinquent.
Nationwide, the percentage of homes that are underwater is
31.4 percent, and 10.1 percent of the underwater homeowners are 90 days or more
delinquent.
See below for the list released today by Zillow.
Zillow's number for underwater homes are considerably higher
than the numbers
put out recently by Corelogic. Corelogic's numbers, which measure the
state as a whole as opposed to the metro Denver
area, during recent quarters estimate that about 21 percent of mortgaged homes
in Colorado
are underwater.
Since statewide averages tend to be heavilty influenced by Denver metro trends, it stands to reason that there is a
significant variation between Zillow's numbers and Corelogic's numbers for
metro Denver.
Zillow also provided county level data. There are few
surprises here. The counties with some of the highest foreclosure rates in
recent years have some of the highest numbers for underwater homes, while some
of the areas with the lowest foreclosure rates have some of the lowest numbers
for underwater homes.
Adams 42%
Arapahoe 35%
Boulder
13%
Broomfield
15%
Denver
29%
Douglas 20%
El Paso
31%
Jefferson 22%
Larimer 16%
Mesa
41%
Pueblo
35%
Weld 35%
Some info on some non-metro counties was provided as well. Garfield county, for
example had an underwater rate op 45%, according to Zillow.
The full press release is below.
Despite Home Value Gains, Underwater Homeowners Owe $1.2 Trillion More than Homes' Worth
But Negative Equity is a Paper Loss for Most, As 90% of Underwater Homeowners Pay Mortgage on Time
Key facts:
- Nearly 16 million homeowners were underwater on their mortgages in the first quarter of 2012, owing a collective $1.2 trillion more than their homes were worth. That is nearly one-third (31.4 percent) of U.S. homeowners with mortgages, compared to 31.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011.
- Foreclosure is not imminent for most underwater homeowners. Nine out of 10 continue to make their mortgage and home loan payments on time, with only 10.1 percent more than 90 days delinquent.
- Many homeowners in negative equity are not deeply underwater. Nearly 40 percent of underwater homeowners owe between 1 and 20 percent more than their home is worth. However, 15 percent of underwater homeowners - approximately 2.4 million - owe more than double what their home is worth.
- In some markets, however, the magnitude of negative equity is much greater. In the Las Vegas metro area, more than one-quarter of all homeowners with mortgages owes more than double what their home is worth.
SEATTLE, May 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly one-third (31.4 percent) of U.S. homeowners with mortgages - or 15.7 million - were underwater on their mortgage in the first quarter of 2012, despite rising home values, according to the first quarter Zillow® Negative Equity Report[1]. Collectively, underwater homeowners owed $1.2 trillion more than their homes were worth. Negative equity rose slightly from 31.1 percent in the fourth quarter, and declined from 32.4 percent one year ago.
Negative equity remained high despite increasing home values in the latter part of the first quarter. A slower pace of foreclosures after the robo-signing issues of 2010 contributed to slower progress in working down negative equity. Foreclosures cause homes to come out of negative equity when a bank or third party takes ownership.
Despite the high rate of negative equity, the majority of underwater homeowners are current on their mortgages. Nine in 10 continue to make their mortgage and home loan payments on time, with just 10.1 percent of underwater homeowners more than 90 days delinquent.
"While it was disappointing to see negative equity numbers remain so high, it is important to note that negative equity remains only a paper loss for the vast majority of underwater homeowners," said Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries. "As home values slowly increase and these homeowners continue to pay down their principal, they will surface again.
"That said, negative equity remains an issue for the housing market as a whole, and poses a risk to any recovery. Not only does negative equity tie many to their homes, by making homeowners unable to move when they may want to, but if economic growth slows and unemployment rises, more homeowners will be unable to make timely mortgage payments, increasing delinquency rates and eventually foreclosures."
Additionally, many homeowners in negative equity are not deeply underwater. Nearly 40 percent of underwater homeowners, or 12.4 percent of all homeowners with a mortgage, owe between 1 and 20 percent more than their home is worth. An additional 21 percent of underwater homeowners, or 6.6 percent of all homeowners with a mortgage, owe between 21 and 40 percent more than their home is worth.
However, about 2.4 million, or 4.7 percent of all homeowners with mortgages owe more than double what their home is worth. In the Las Vegas metro area, nearly 90,000, or 26.8 percent of homeowners with mortgages owe double.
On a state level, Nevada has the highest percentage of negative equity, with 66.9 percent of all homeowners with mortgages underwater. Arizona (52.3 percent), Georgia (46.8 percent), Florida (46.3 percent) and Michigan (41.7 percent) also have highest percentages of homeowners in negative equity.
These results are from the first edition of the new Zillow Negative Equity Report, which looks at current outstanding loan amounts for individual owner-occupied homes and compares them to those homes' current estimated values. Loan data are provided by TransUnion®, a global leader in credit and information management. This is the only report that uses current outstanding loan balances on all mortgages when calculating negative equity. Other reports estimate current outstanding loan balance based on the most recent loan on a property (i.e., the original loan amount at time of purchase or refinance).
Metropolitan Area Q1 2012: Q4 2011: % of Underwater Homeowners 90 Days+
Delinquent (Q1 2012)
% of Homeowners w/ Mortgages in % of Homeowners w/ Mortgages in
Negative Equity Negative Equity
------------------------------
United States 31.4% 31.1% 10.1%
------------- ---- ---- ----
New York 21.3% 20.1% 20.6%
Los Angeles 30% 28.6% 12.1%
Chicago 41.1% 39.2% 12.7%
Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas 30.7% 29.8% 6.7%
Philadelphia 25% 23.9% 11.2%
Washington DC 32.4% 32% 10.6%
Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 46.4% 47% 26.8%
Atlanta 55.2% 54.2% 8.3%
Boston 22% 20.7% 8.1%
San Francisco 30.7% 29% 9.7%
Detroit 49.8% 50.2% 6.3%
Riverside, Calif. 53.4% 52.5% 12.3%
Phoenix 55.5% 57.8% 9.1%
Seattle 39.6% 38.4% 10.2%
Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. 39.9% 38.9% 5.2%
San Diego 35.6% 35.2% 9.7%
Tampa, Fla. 48.3% 48.2% 18.6%
St. Louis 30.7% 31.1% 6.4%
Baltimore 31.4% 29.9% 11.4%
Denver 29% 30.2% 6.1%
Pittsburgh 16.7% 16.1% 5.7%
Portland, Ore. 34.3% 34.3% 8.2%
Sacramento, Calif. 51.2% 50.3% 9%
Orlando, Fla. 53.9% 53.8% 19.5%
Cleveland 33.9% 33.2% 9.1%
Las Vegas 71% 70.2% 14.3%
San Jose 22.7% 22.3% 10%
Columbus 34.2% 34.4% 7.7%
Charlotte 36.6% 36.8% 10.2%
Virginia Beach 33.2% 32.4% 6.9%
-------------- ---- ---- ---
Also new this quarter, Zillow is launching a data visualization that shows levels of negative equity across the country, down to the ZIP code. The visualization can be found here: http://www.zillow.com/visuals/
