Two recent housing reports are confirming the same picture: Home owners are rapidly recapturing the equity they had lost in the last decade. A sharp rise in home prices helped 2.5 million more mortgage borrowers eke out from being underwater in the second quarter, according to the latest report from CoreLogic. By the end of June, 14.5 percent of mortgage borrowers remained underwater on their loans, compared to 19.7 percent at the end of the first quarter. In late 2009, that percentage stood at 26 percent. Last week, RealtyTrac reported since May, 600,000 home owners had emerged from being “deeply underwater,” owing more on their home than it is currently worth. The pace of home price increases is expected to steady in the coming months, which likely will curtail the number of home owners emerging from underwater status. CoreLogic shows the following states had the highest percentage of mortgage borrowers still underwater in the second quarter:
Nevada: 36.4%
Michigan: 22.5%
Florida: 31.5%
Georgia: 20.7%
Arizona: 24.7%
Broken down on a metro level, Miami had the highest percentage of home owners who are underwater at 36.5 percent, followed by Tampa, Fla. (33.8%); Phoenix (25.6%); Riverside, Calif. (24.8%); and Warren, Mich. (24.3%). Thanks to a sharp increase in home prices last quarter, 2.5 million more mortgage borrowers no longer owe more on their homes than they are worth, according to CoreLogic. By the end of June, 7.1 million, or 14.5%, of mortgage borrowers remained underwater on their loans compared with 9.6 million, or 19.7%, at the end of the first quarter. In late 2009, during the worst of the housing market´s meltdown, 26% of all borrowers were underwater.