ATTOM Data’s third quarter 2024 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report showed that the West and Northeastern regions of the United States have the highest proportion of equity-rich mortgages. This dynamic showed strongest in Vermont, where 86.4% of homes were found to be equity-rich, or had a home value equal to at least twice the amount left on the mortgage. Maine followed at 62.2%, with New Hampshire at 61.1% and Rhode Island and Montana clocking in at 60.6% and 60.5%, respectively.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Midwest and South showed a propensity for lower percentages of equity-rich mortgages. The smallest portions of mortgages that were considered equity-rich were in Louisiana (21.1%). This was followed by Alaska at 31.9%, North Dakota and Maryland both at 33.2% and Illinois at 34%.
The report also showed that equity-rich households comprised 48.3% of all mortgaged households in the United States in the third quarter of 2024. This level of equity-rich households is in keeping with recent data from ATTOM, which shows a slight decline in the total number of equity-rich households from 49.2% in the second quarter of 2024.
Additionally, 2.5% of homes fell into the category of underwater in Q3 2024, a slight increase from 2.4% in Q2, and unchanged from Q3 2023. Home mortgages are considered “underwater” when they have a loan balance that exceeds 25% of the value of the property itself.
Wyoming led the way for markets that had a decline in homes with underwater mortgages, seeing a decrease from 5.9% to 2.4% year-over-year for Q3. West Virginia also declined in terms of percentage of underwater mortgages, from 4.6% to 3.8%. Other states that saw decreases were Louisiana (10.8% to 10.1%), Illinois (4.4% to 4.1%) and New Jersey (1.9% to 1.6%).
“Homeowner equity typically mirrors home-price trends, and the third quarter of this year followed that pattern. Equity remained elevated as the value of residential properties has surged consistently over the years,” said Rob Barber, ATTOM CEO. “We can expect to see small movements up or down over the coming months as the housing market moves into its annual slow season.”
Read the full report here.
