St Casimirs Mortgage Minute

Underwater Mortgages Highest in Nevada, Florida, Illinois

Approximately 4 million U.S. homeowners owed a mortgage amount greater than the value of the property at the end of the first quarter of 2016, according to new data from CoreLogic. The number was down from 4.3 million underwater properties at the end of the fourth quarter of 2015. Florida had the second highest percentage of homes with negative equity at 15 percent, trailing Nevada at 17.5 percent. Among metro areas, Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla., had the second highest percentage of properties with negative equity after Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev., at 19.9 percent. "More than 1 million homeowners have escaped the negative equity trap over the past year," said CoreLogic CEO Anand Nallathambi. "We expect this positive trend to continue over the balance of 2016 and into next year as home prices continue to rise."

From "Underwater Mortgages Highest in Nevada, Florida, Illinois"
24/7 Wall St. (06/09/16) Ausick, Paul