According to ATTOM Data Solutions’ latest US Home Equity and Underwater Report, 9.3% or +5.1M properties in this country are seriously underwater. (Seriously underwater in this context means that loans secured by a property are at least +25% higher than the property’s estimated market value.)
Simultaneously, ATTOM indicates that +13.9M or 24.9% of all US homes with mortgages are equity rich. (Equity rich in this context means that the combined estimated balance of loans is 50% or less than the property’s estimated market value.)
Daren Blomquist, vice president of ATTOM Data Solutions, said, “Nationwide, the number of equity rich homeowners is more than twice the number of seriously underwater homeowners but this gap between home equity haves and have-nots persists because of home price appreciation is certainly not uniform across local markets or even within local markets.”
Let’s look at the states, metros and zip codes that most exemplify the gap between the haves and have-nots.
States with the Highest Share of Seriously Underwater Properties
- Mississippi – 22.6%
- Louisiana – 20.8%
- Illinois – 15.9%
- Iowa – 15.9%
- Ohio – 15.8%
Metros with the Highest Share of Seriously Underwater Properties
- Baton Rouge – 20.8%
- Memphis – 20.5%
- Youngtown – 19.5%
- Scranton – 19.5%
- Toledo – 18.9%
Zip Codes with the Highest Share of Seriously Underwater Properties
There were 39 zip codes among 7,290 where at least 50% of the properties are seriously underwater.
- 08611 – Trenton NJ – 71.1%
- 63137 0 St. Louis MO – 67.3%
- 60426 – Harvey, IL – 65.4%
- 44110 – Cleveland OH – 65.3%
- 61104 Rockford IL – 64.0%
States with the Highest Share of Equity Rich Properties
- California – 43.5%
- Hawaii – 39.1%
- Washington – 35.0%
- New York -33.9%
- Oregon – 32.8%
Metros with the Highest Share of Equity Rich Properties
- San Jose – 71.0%
- San Francisco – 60.4%
- Los Angeles – 47.8%
- Seattle – 41.5%
- Honolulu – 40.5%
Zip Codes with the Highest Share of Equity Rich Properties
There are 436 zip codes among 7,290 where at least half of the properties have combined loans of less than 50% of the property’s estimated market value. New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Denver rank high in this category.
- 94116 – San Francisco – 85.9%
- 94086 – Sunnyvale – 84.3%
- 94040 – Mountain View – 84.3%
- 94087 – Sunnyvale – 84.3%
- 94122 San Francisco – 84.2%
No, it’s not a typo. San Francisco and Sunnyvale have two zip codes within respective city boundaries ranked among the highest share of equity rich properties.
