Underwater Homes – Floating!
I know this is typical for the real estate industry, but there’s good news and bad news. Which do you want first?
Okay, I’m not really giving you an option here, so here goes:
Good news: the number of homeowners underwater is shrinking. Taking into account people actually underwater and those with near-negative equity the national statistics show 27.7 percent of all residential properties.
Bad news: if you’ve got a second mortgage (like a home equity line of credit) you’re almost 20% more likely to have negative equity, and those numbers are rising.
Basically, underwater homeowners with only one mortgage are on average under by $52,000. If you’ve got a second mortgage, that amount jumps to $83,000.
Nevada is still leading the pack with the hit their real estate market has suffered. 63% of mortgage properties are underwater. Arizona’s got 50%, Florida 46%, Michigan 36% and California 31%.
So while the national situation is improving, if you’re among those with a second mortgage you’re still going to have quite a climb to get out. But never fear! There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel and plenty of opportunities to get ahead of the curve.
Keep making those payments. Keep bringing down your debt. And keep watching my blog and catching my emails, because great deals and great offers could be passing you by.
