{"id":8953,"date":"2016-02-01T16:28:49","date_gmt":"2016-02-01T16:28:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/?p=8953"},"modified":"2016-02-01T16:28:59","modified_gmt":"2016-02-01T16:28:59","slug":"equity-gains-for-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/equity-gains-for-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Equity Gains for 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

Equity Gains for 2015<\/h2>\n
\"Equity<\/a>

Equity Gains for 2015<\/p><\/div>\n

More home owners are unlocking equity, which has pushed the number of underwater properties nationwide to about half of the peak reached in the second quarter of 2012, RealtyTrac reports in its Year-End 2015 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report.<\/p>\n

By the end of 2015, about 6.4 million homes \u2013 or 11.5 percent of all properties with a mortgage — were considered \u201cseriously underwater\u201d \u2013 in which the loan amount is at least 25 percent higher than the property\u2019s estimated market value. That marks half the 12.8 million \u2013or 28.6 percent of all properties \u2013 of seriously underwater properties in the peak of the second quarter of 2012, RealtyTrac reports.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past three and a half years, the number of seriously underwater properties has been cut in half, but we continue to deal with a long tail of seriously underwater properties, and it will likely be another five years at least before most of those remaining underwater properties move into positive equity territory,\u201d says Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. \u201cAt the other end of the spectrum, the growing number of equity rich properties reflects a moribund move-up market and restrained leveraging of home equity by U.S. home owners.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the end of 2015, about 12.6 million properties \u2013 or 22.5 percent of all properties with a mortgage — were considered \u201cequity rich,\u201d having at least 50 percent equity.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, also by the end of 2015, 49.7 percent of all homes in foreclosure had at least some equity \u2013 a record high since RealtyTrac began tracking in the third quarter of 2013.<\/p>\n

Tracking the Highs<\/strong><\/p>\n

The following markets \u2013 with a population of at least 500,000 — had the highest share of seriously underwater properties at the end of 2015:<\/p>\n