A CoreLogic report from earlier in June heralded the return of positive equity for 850,000 more residential properties in the first quarter of 2013, another sign that the market is recovering. According to CoreLogic, the national aggregate value of negative equity decreased more than $50 billion to $580 billion at the end of the first quarter from 631 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012.
“It is hard to know market by market exactly how extensive the return to positive equity is, but from published data it looks like the movement is spread across the country,” says RE/MAX, LLC Chairman of the Board and Co-founder Dave Liniger. “In 2012, 1.7 million homeowners who were previously underwater achieved positive equity and about half that number achieved positive equity in the first quarter of 2013. For every home price increase of 5 percent another 1.2 million will reach positive equity. It appears to be a widespread phenomenon and one that will benefit this inventory-starved market.”
According to the newest Homes.com Local Market Index:
– Monthly increases in all of the top 100 markets, a sizable improvement from the 75 out of 100 that gained in February.
– Honolulu, Hawaii Hawaii remains the top gaining market on a year-over-year basis.
– California markets increased 18.85, 18.47, and 15.46 index points respectively.
– Six of the top 10 monthly gaining markets are in the West, two are from the South, and the Northeast and Midwest each had one.
