Underwater Mortgage

The number of underwater homes in the U.S. dropped in Q4 2023 as home prices continued soaring, adding to the property wealth of American homeowners. Equity rose by approximately $24,000 YOY for the average borrower, according to new data from CoreLogic. A home is underwater if it has negative equity – that is, if it’s worth less than the homeowners owe. Quarter-over-quarter, the number of homes with negative equity slipped by 1.1%, accounting for just 1.8% of all mortgaged properties, the lowest number ever recorded by CoreLogic.  Annually, underwater mortgages were down by 15%. “Rising home prices continue to fuel growing home equity, which, at $298,000 per average borrower remained near historic highs at the end of 2023,” said Dr.…