HOME EQUITY HOLDS STEADY AROUND U.S. DURING FOURTH QUARTER AS HOUSING MARKET REMAINS STRONG

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Jan 30, 2025, 00:01 ET

Equity-Rich Portion of Home Mortgages Dips Slightly, but Nearly 95 Percent of Homeowners Continue to Have Property Wealth Built Up; Portion of Owners Seriously Underwater Stays Near Six-Year Low; Equity Measures Largely Unchanged as Home Prices Inch Upward

IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property data, and real estate analytics, today released its fourth quarter 2024 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report, which shows that 47.7 percent of mortgaged residential properties in the United States were considered equity-rich in the fourth quarter, meaning that the combined estimated amount of loan balances secured by those properties was no more than half of their estimated market values.

That level was down slightly from 48.3 percent in the third quarter of 2024 and from a recent peak of 49.2 in the prior three-month period. However, it was still up from 46.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 and remained at historically high levels that again showed one of the most profound benefits of the nation's 13-year housing market boom.

The same holding pattern continued for the portion of home mortgages that were seriously underwater. Just 2.5 percent of mortgaged homes fell into that category during the fourth quarter of 2024, with combined estimated balances of loans secured by properties that were at least 25 percent more than those properties' estimated market values. That was the same as in the third quarter and almost unchanged from the 2.6 percent level recorded in late- 2023.

"The last few months of 2024 marked pretty much a holding pattern for the housing market. That's typical for the slower Fall home buying season. But it certainly wasn't a downer for homeowners across the country who are sitting on historically high levels of property equity thanks in large part to the endless increases in home values over more than a decade," said Rob Barber, CEO for ATTOM. "Nearly half of all residential mortgage payers in the U.S. have paid off at least half their loans, leaving many with six-figures levels of wealth available to leverage anything from new home purchases to starting new businesses to paying off major expenses."

He added that "we are likely to see more of the same steady pace over the next few months before heading into the Spring buying season, which will say a lot about whether the housing market keeps roaring ahead and boosts home equity even further."

Fourth-quarter equity trends emerged as the housing market continues to face mixed forces that could either stall it or propel it onward.

Majority of states see equity-rich portion of home mortgages slip quarterly but remain up annually
The portion of mortgaged homes that were equity-rich during the fourth quarter of 2024, 47.7 percent, remained far above the 26.5 percent level recorded in early 2020. While the latest figure was down in 33 of the 50 U.S. states from the third quarter to the fourth quarter of 2024, mostly by less than two percentage points, it was still up annually in 41 states.

Annual increases were spread across almost all regions and price segments of the U.S. housing market, with the most benefit going to low- and mid-priced markets around the country concentrated in the Midwest and Northeast regions. However, there were signs of that pattern as those areas absorbed slightly larger quarterly drop-offs reversing late in the year.

The annual increases were led by Rhode Island (portion of mortgaged homes considered equity-rich increased from 54.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 to 60.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024), Missouri (up from 37.3 percent to 43 percent), Connecticut (up from 42.4 percent to 47.9 percent), New Jersey (up from 46.8 percent to 52.3 percent) and Illinois (up from 28 percent to 33 percent).

On the opposite side of the spectrum, equity-rich levels generally declined slightly across western states. The largest year-over-year fallbacks during the fourth quarter came in Florida (down, year over year, from 54.3 percent to 50.9 percent), Utah (down from 53.7 percent to 51.1 percent), Arizona (down from 52.7 percent to 50.9 percent), Oregon (down from 51.2 percent to 49.6 percent) and Idaho (down from 57.6 percent to 56.1 percent).

Small changes in seriously underwater mortgage rates around U.S.
The portion of mortgaged homes considered seriously underwater across the U.S. barely changed during the fourth quarter of 2024. It stood at one in 39, which was nearly the same as levels of one in 40 during the third quarter and one in 38 a year earlier. The latest ratio remained far better than the one-in-15 portion recorded in 2020.

The rate worsened in 36 states quarterly, by less than one percentage point in all of those, while it was better annually in 34.

The biggest annual improvements in seriously underwater mortgages came in Wyoming (share of mortgaged homes that were seriously underwater down from 8.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 to 2.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024), Mississippi (down from 8 percent to 6.4 percent), Louisiana (down from 10.9 percent to 9.5 percent), Missouri (down from 5.6 percent to 4.5 percent) and Illinois (down from 5.1 percent to 4.5 percent).

The largest year-over-year increases in the percentage of seriously underwater homes during the fourth quarter of 2024 were in Kansas (up from 2.8 percent to 4.4 percent), Utah (up from 2 percent to 2.5 percent), Idaho (up from 2.3 percent to 2.7 percent), Georgia (up from 2.5 percent to 2.8 percent) and Florida (up from 1.3 percent to 1.6 percent).

Highest equity-rich rates remain in more-expensive markets clustered in Northeast and West
The 10 states with the highest levels of equity-rich mortgaged properties around the U.S. during the fourth quarter of 2024 again were in the Northeast or West regions. Those with the largest portions were Vermont (86.7 percent of mortgaged homes were equity-rich), New Hampshire (61.4 percent), Maine (61.1 percent), Rhode Island (60.8 percent) and Montana (60.1 percent).

Nine of the 10 states with the lowest percentages of equity-rich properties during the fourth quarter of 2024 again were in the Midwest or South. The smallest portions were in Louisiana (22.4 percent of mortgaged homes were equity-rich), Alaska (31.5 percent), North Dakota (32.4 percent), Maryland (32.6 percent) and Illinois (33 percent).

Among the 107 metropolitan statistical areas nationwide with populations of at least 500,000, the markets with the highest equity-rich levels included San Jose, CA (68.5 percent equity-rich); Los Angeles, CA (64 percent); Portland, ME (63.5 percent); San Diego, CA (63.4 percent) and Buffalo, NY (60.9 percent).

The portion of mortgaged homes considered equity rich decreased from the third to the fourth quarter of 2024 in 69 of the 107 metro areas with sufficient data (64 percent). But it was still up from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the same period of 2024 in 67 of those markets (63 percent).

Top equity-rich counties again concentrated in Midwest
Among 1,751 counties that had at least 2,500 homes with mortgages in the fourth quarter of 2024, 18 of the top 25 equity-rich locations were spread across the Midwest, with concentrations in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Counties with the highest share of equity-rich properties were Chittenden County (Burlington), VT (91.6 percent equity-rich); Benzie County (Beulah), MI (90.3 percent); Manistee County, MI (89.8 percent); Washington County (Montpelier), VT (89 percent) and Portage County (Stevens Point), WI (89 percent).

Counties with populations of at least 500,000 and the highest equity-rich levels were Santa Clara County (San Jose), CA (69.5 percent equity-rich); Orange County, CA (outside Los Angeles) (69.1 percent); San Mateo County, CA (68.2 percent); Dallas County, TX (64.9 percent) and Miami-Dade County, FL (64.4 percent).

The 20 counties with the smallest share of equity-rich homes in the fourth quarter of 2024 were all in the South. The lowest were in Vernon Parish (Leesville), LA (6.9 percent equity-rich); Long County, GA (south of Savannah) (9.6 percent); Greenup County, KY (11.7 percent); Bossier Parish, LA (13.4 percent) and Ascension Parish, LA (outside Baton Rouge) (13.8 percent).

Counties with populations of at least 500,000 and the smallest equity-rich portions were Baltimore City/County, MD (26.9 percent equity-rich); Prince George's County, MD (outside Washington, DC) (28.6 percent); Anne Arundel County, MD (outside Baltimore) (30.1 percent); Baltimore County, MD (30.4 percent) and Cook County (Chicago), IL (30.8 percent).

At least half of all mortgaged homes considered equity-rich in more than 40 percent of U.S. zip codes
Among 9,149 U.S. zip codes that had at least 2,000 residential properties with mortgages in the fourth quarter of 2024, there were 3,882 (42.4 percent) where at least half the mortgaged residential properties were equity-rich.

Among the top 50 zip codes, 28 were in California or Massachusetts. They included eight in an area of Massachusetts known as Martha's Vineyard, five in Irvine, CA, and four in Santa Barbara, CA. The largest shares were in zip codes 49855 in Marquette, MI (90.5 percent of mortgaged properties were equity-rich); 54843 in Hayward, WI (86.4 percent); 92657 in Newport Coast, CA (86.3 percent); 57702 in Rapid City, SD (85.7 percent) and 94024 in Los Altos, CA (85.4 percent).

Highest seriously underwater mortgage rates still in Midwest and South
The Midwest and South regions again had 19 the 20 states with the highest shares of mortgages that were seriously underwater in the fourth quarter of last year. The top five were Louisiana (9.5 percent seriously underwater), Mississippi (6.4 percent), Kentucky (6.1 percent), Arkansas (5.3 percent) and Iowa (5.3 percent).

The smallest shares were in Vermont (0.7 percent seriously underwater), Rhode Island (0.9 percent), New Hampshire (1 percent), Massachusetts (1.2 percent) and Hawaii (1.3 percent).

Among 107 metropolitan statistical areas with a population greater than 500,000, those with the largest shares of mortgages that were seriously underwater in the fourth quarter of 2024 were Baton Rouge, LA (10 percent); New Orleans, LA (7 percent); Jackson, MS (6.2 percent); Kansas City, MO (5.3 percent) and Memphis, TN (5.2 percent).

More than 10 percent of residential mortgages seriously underwater in just a handful of zip codes
Among the 9,149 U.S. zip codes analyzed in the fourth quarter of 2024, there were only 167 locations (1.8 percent) where more than 10 percent of mortgaged properties were seriously underwater.

The top five zip codes with the largest shares of seriously underwater properties in the fourth quarter of 2024 were 41501 in Pikeville, KY (29.3 percent of mortgaged homes); 19132 in Philadelphia, PA (27.8 percent); 53206 in Milwaukee, WI (27.5 percent); 44108 in Cleveland, OH (27 percent) and 44112 in Cleveland, OH (26.8 percent).

Report methodology
The ATTOM U.S. Home Equity & Underwater report provides counts of properties based on several categories of equity — or loan to value (LTV) — at the state, metro, county and zip code level, along with the percentage of total properties with a mortgage that each equity category represents. The equity/LTV is calculated based on record-level loan model estimating position and amount of loans secured by a property and a record-level automated valuation model (AVM) derived from publicly recorded mortgage and deed of trust data collected and licensed by ATTOM nationwide for more than 155 million U.S. properties. The ATTOM Home Equity and Underwater report has been updated and modified to better reflect a housing market focused on the traditional home buying process. ATTOM found that markets where investors were more prominent, they would offset the loan to value ratio due to sales involving multiple properties with a single jumbo loan encompassing all of the properties. Therefore, going forward such activity is now excluded from the reports in order to provide traditional consumer home purchase and loan activity.

Definitions
Seriously underwater: Loan to value ratio of 125 percent or above, meaning the property owner owed at least 25 percent more than the estimated market value of the property.

Equity-rich: Loan to value ratio of 50 percent or lower, meaning the property owner had at least 50 percent equity.

About ATTOM
ATTOM provides premium property data and analytics that power a myriad of solutions that improve transparency, innovation, digitization and efficiency in a data-driven economy. ATTOM multi-sources property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard, and neighborhood data for more than 155 million U.S. residential and commercial properties covering 99 percent of the nation's population. A rigorous data management process involving more than 20 steps validates, standardizes, and enhances the real estate data collected by ATTOM, assigning each property record with a persistent, unique ID — the ATTOM ID. The 30TB ATTOM Data Warehouse fuels innovation in many industries including mortgage, real estate, insurance, marketing, government and more through flexible data delivery solutions that include ATTOM Cloud, bulk file licenses, property data APIs, real estate market trends, property navigator and more. Also, introducing our newest innovative solution, making property data more readily accessible and optimized for AI applications – AI-Ready Solutions.