CoreLogic released a report today in which it found that 5.4 million homeowners are still underwater in their mortgages, meaning they have negative equity value in the home. In other words, they owe more on their mortgage than the value of the home itself. Another 10 million mortgaged properties are what CoreLogic calls “under-equitied,” meaning they have less than 20% equity.
Despite these dire numbers, nearly 1.2 million U.S. borrowers regained equity in 2014, and the value of homes remaining in negative equity increased by $7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2014. As you can see on CoreLogic’s map of negative equity share by state below, negative equity is concentrated in the states hardest hit by the housing downturn. Arizona, Nevada and Florida all fare poorly, with Georgia and Illinois not far behind in the second tier.
Click to enlarge.