Home Equity Increasing

Today there are fewer homeowners underwater as prices are increasing and home sales are rising. This is according to a recently released report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The HUD report showed home prices are continuing to make gains and the number of underwater homeowners has dropped by 42 percent since the beginning of 2012. The number of homeowners who owe more on than their home is worth dropped to 7.1 million from 12.1 million as of the second quarter of 2013. As prices increased so did the number of sales.

The report did caution readers with the fact that the housing market has still not returned to normal.  “As we regain stability in our housing markets, it is important to remember that we still have a long way to go in making sure that our housing finance system is strong for future generations,” says Kurt Usowski, HUD deputy assistant secretary for economic affairs.

Five million homeowner moving from negative to positive equity since the beginning of the year is great news but, for most, the amount of equity is still not sufficient to sell their home and walk away with sufficient cash to purchase a new home.

In the Sacramento area there remains a large number of homeowners who are underwater and struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments.  I don’t see any significant signs indicating lenders are reaching out to help these homeowners or making getting a mortgage any easier.

Julie Jalone

If you or someone you know is considering buying, please feel free to contact me MagnumOne Realty office in Roseville at (916) 276-6883 and email at [email protected].

We specialize serving the needs of buyers and sellers of homes in the Roseville and Sacramento area including Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, Sutter and Yuba counties.

DRE# 01418097