The collective equity of homeowners increased 4.8 percent, or by $428 billion, in the last year, from the second quarter of 2018 to the second quarter of 2019, according to CoreLogic’s latest Home Equity Report. For the average homeowner, that equates to $4,900.
“Borrower equity rose to an all-time high in the first half of 2019 and has more than doubled since the housing recovery started,” says Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Combined with low mortgage rates, this rise in home equity supports spending on home improvements and may help improve balance sheets of households who could take out home equity loans to consolidate their debt.”
According to the report, the biggest gains in equity were in Idaho and Wyoming, where average equity increased $22,100 and $20,400, respectively.
In the past year, the amount of homes that are overleveraged shrank, as well, collectively down 9 percent.
“Home values have continued to rise in most parts of the country this year and we are seeing the benefit in higher home equity levels,” says Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “The Western half of the U.S. has experienced particularly strong gains in home equity recently. In July 2019, South Dakota and Connecticut were the only two states to post annual home price declines. These losses mirror the states’ home equity performances during the second quarter as both reported negative home equity gains per borrower.”
For more information, please visit www.corelogic.com.
