R.I. fourth highest in U.S. for percentage of ‘underwater’ mortgages in 1Q

CORELOGIC SAID Rhode Island had the fourth highest percentage of mortgaged residential properties in negative equity in the nation in the first quarter at 13.3 percent. / COURTESY CORELOGIC
CORELOGIC SAID Rhode Island had the fourth highest percentage of mortgaged residential properties in negative equity in the nation in the first quarter at 13.3 percent. / COURTESY CORELOGIC

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island had the fourth-highest percentage of mortgaged residential properties in negative equity in the nation in the first quarter at 13.3 percent, CoreLogic said Thursday.
That translated to 31,715 properties with negative equity in the Ocean State.
Negative equity also means “underwater” or “upside down.” It refers to borrowers who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. It can occur due to a decline in home value, increase in mortgage debt, or a combination of both.
Nevada had the highest percentage of homes in negative equity at 17.5 percent, followed by Florida, 15 percent; and Illinois, 14.4 percent. Maryland was fifth highest at 12.9 percent. Combined, the five states accounted for 30.2 percent of negative equity nationwide, CoreLogic said.
In comparison, Texas had the highest percentage of homes in positive equity at 98.1 percent.
The number of properties in the Providence-Warwick-Fall River metropolitan area in negative equity declined in the first quarter to 12.1 percent, or 43,772 properties, CoreLogic said Thursday.
During first quarter 2015, 14.5 percent, or 51,774, of properties were in negative equity in the Providence metro.
Nationwide, the total number of mortgaged properties with negative equity in the first quarter stood at 4 million, or 8 percent of all homes with a mortgage, a 22 percent decrease from 5.1 million homes, or 10.3 percent, during the year-ago quarter.
CoreLogic added that 268,000 homeowners regained equity in the first quarter, bringing the total number of mortgaged residential properties with equity at the end of the quarter to approximately 46.7 million, or 92 percent of all mortgaged properties.

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