15% of homes still seriously underwater

[Crewleader]

Oct 23, 2014
By
Catey Hill




According to a report released Thursday by RealtyTrac, 15% of U.S. properties (representing 8.1 million properties) with a mortgage are seriously underwater — meaning the homeowner owes at least 25% more than the estimated market value of the property. This is down from 17% of mortgaged properties in the second quarter of this year and the lowest rate since the company began tracking negative equity in the first quarter of 2012. The highest percentage of homes that are seriously underwater were those bought during the housing bubble in 2006 (40% of homes bought in 2006 are still seriously underwater), 2007 (35%) and 2005 (32%) in particular.

While that sounds like good news — and it mostly is — there are some caveats. First, the rate of decline in negative equity is slowing, as home price appreciation is slowing, says Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac vice president . Plus, the negative equity problem is particularly troubling for those with more modest homes: More than half of properties worth less than $50,000 and more than one-third of those worth $50,000 to $100,000 are seriously underwater, compared with fewer than 10% of homes worth $300,000 and above


http://www.marketwatch.com/story/15-of-homes-still-seriously-underwater-2014-10-23

[yeoman6987]

1. Just don't sell

The worst you can do is sell. Mine was much less valued in 2008, but by 2014, it was up 300k and sold my home. So just be patient. Maryland is back in business.