Underwater Mortgages a New Low
The financial crisis saw many unfortunate homeowners go underwater with their mortgage loans. With the economy improving, though, and the Fed working to save these imperiled homes, negative equity is dropping across the country. According to RealtyTrac, as of the third quarter of 2014, the percentage of American homes with underwater mortgage loans dropped to fifteen percent.
These new figures represent the lowest result RealtyTrac has reported since it began tracking underwater mortgages in the beginning of 2012. At this time, underwater home loans in America were dancing dangerously close to the thirty percent range. The number peaked in the second quarter of 2012 with twenty-nine percent. Meanwhile, equity-rich homes are slowly rising as well, representing roughly twenty percent of all home loans. We can therefore see that significant progress has been made.
Unfortunately, we still have some way to go. Negative equity in this country still exceeds one trillion dollars. Further, RealtyTrac says that an additional sixteen percent of mortgages are in danger of falling underwater. The real estate market therefore looks to the future for further recovery.
