Equity rich properties hit a whopping 25.6% of all US properties with mortgages in 2018, according to ATTOM Data Solutions. ATTOM’s Q4 2018 US Home Equity and Underwater Report indicated there were 14.5M equity rich properties. This number of equity rich properties represents an increase of 834,000 from one year ago and a new high as of Q4 2013.
Equity rich properties are those having a combined estimated amount of loans secured by the property that equals 50% or less of the property’s estimated market value.
That one in four homeowners, the highest level in five years, has an equity rich property makes sense to Todd Teta, ATTOM’s chief product officer. “With homeowners staying put longer, homeownership equity will most likely continue to strengthen.”
The highest share of equity rich properties are located in California, Hawaii, New York, Washington and Oregon. The top five states with equity rich properties include
- California with 43.6%
- Hawaii – 39.3%
- New York – 34.2%
- Washington – 34.2%
- Oregon – 32.9%
The top metros with equity rich properties include
- San Jose – 72%
- San Francisco – 60.7%
- Los Angeles – 48.5%
- Honolulu – 40.2%
- Oxnard – 39.2%
Seven of the top ten equity rich counties are in California:
- San Mateo – 75.9%
- Santa Clara – 73.0%
- San Francisco – 71.4%
- Pasquotank NC – 65.7&
- Alameda – 62.7%
There are 427 zip codes among 7,590 zip codes where at least one half of the properties are equity rich. The most equity rich zip codes are all within the San Francisco Bay Area:
- 94116 – San Francisco – 85.0%
- 94087 – Sunnyvale – 84.6%
- 94040 – Mountain View – 83.5%
- 94043 – Mountain View – 83.0%
- 95051 – Santa Clara – 82.7%
