A growing percentage of homeowners owe less than half of their homes total value, according to recent analysis.
"The hot housing market has not just meant windfalls for sellers. It's also increasing the percentage of homeowners who are 'equity-rich,'" reports Andy Medici, sharing findings of a new study by property database Attom Data Solutions LLC.
"About 34.4% of residential properties in the United States were 'equity-rich' in the second quarter of 2021, which means the total loans on the property were half or less than half of the property's total value. That's up from 31.2% in the first quarter of 2021 and up from 27.5% in the second quarter of 2020," explains Medici of the report's findings.
Just 4.1 percemt of homes are underwater, "down from 5.2% during the first quarter of 2021 and down from 6.2% during the same time in 2020."
Around the country, Arizona saw the biggest jump in its portion of equity-rich homes. Maryland was the only state in the country that saw its percentage of equity-rich homes slip in the last quarter.
Read the full story: Covid-19-fueled market leads to more equity-rich homeowners
Home Equity Takings Case Will Move Forward, Federal Judge Rules
Two plaintiffs in Greenfield, Massachusetts, have accused city officials of violating the Takings Clause after the city foreclosed on their properties to recoup unpaid property taxes and then kept all the equity.
Institutional Investors Gaining a Larger Footprint in the Housing Market, Report Says
The locations with the fastest growing populations are seeing the most dramatic increase in investor-owned single-family housing rentals.
Survey Says: U.S. Homebuyers, Especially Gen Z, Want Walkable Neighborhoods
Generation Z is leading a new push toward walkable communities, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Realtors.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority