Negative Equity
While 4.9 million homeowners have risen from underwater since the negative equity peak in 2011, one in five homeowners with a mortgage remains underwater today, according to Zillow’s data.
That’s about 10.8 million homeowners currently in a negative equity position.
The “effective” negative equity rate is even higher at 39.2 percent in the third quarter, according to Zillow.
The “effective” rate includes all homeowners who have less than 20 percent equity in their homes. This rate is significant because selling a home and purchasing a new one “requires equity of 20 percent or more to comfortably meet related expenses,” according to Zillow.
More than half of underwater homeowners are underwater by at least 20 percent, Zillow stated. Assuming Zillow’s estimate for home price growth at 3.8 percent over the next year, it will take a homeowner with 20 percent negative equity five years to rise to the surface.
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