The Most Underwater Mortgages
For individual homeowners, being “underwater” on a mortgage – when a home is worth less than outstanding debt, or has “negative equity” – is one of the worst positions to be in, short of foreclosure.
Zillow.com, a firm that compiles US real estate and mortgage information, has put together a list of the 156 largest metro areas that includes statistics on median home values, market changes and the proportion of homes with negative equity.
Included in the data is the “Zillow Home Values Index,” which represents the median measure of home valuations. According to Zillow’s newest report, the current median US home price is $204,900, down 6.82% year-over-year. More than one in five - 23.3% - of US homes are underwater, which is up slightly from 23% from Q2 2009, according to Zillow.
So, which metro areas have the highest proportion of homes underwater? Click ahead for the results.
By Paul Toscano
Posted 10 May 2010
15. Jacksonville, Florida
% of Homes with negative equity: 49.1%
Homes with negative equity: 127,807
Zillow Home Value Index: $141,700
Year-over-year change: -8.45%
14. Riverside, California
% of Homes with negative equity: 51.2%
Homes with negative equity: 347,778
Zillow Home Value Index: $188,900
Year-over-year change: -8.27%
13. Tampa, Florida
% of Homes with negative equity: 53.1%
Homes with negative equity: 286,303
Zillow Home Value Index: $118,000
Year-over-year change: -12.05%
12. Vallejo, California
% of Homes with negative equity: 54.7%
Homes with negative equity: 41,436
Zillow Home Value Index: $204,400
Year-over-year change: -11.94%
11. El Centro, California
% of Homes with negative equity: 54.9%
Homes with negative equity: 12,103
Zillow Home Value Index:
Year-over-year change:
10. Port St. Lucie, Florida
% of Homes with negative equity: 56.2%
Homes with negative equity: 54,190
Zillow Home Value Index: $118,100
Year-over-year change: -9.69%
9. Stockton, California
% of Homes with negative equity: 57.7%
Homes with negative equity: 64,614
Zillow Home Value Index: $157,100
Year-over-year change: -8.43%
8. Fort Meyers, Florida
% of Homes with negative equity: 58.2%
Homes with negative equity: 83,553
Zillow Home Value Index: N/A
Year-over-year change: N/A
7. Lakeland, Florida
% of Homes with negative equity: 58.5%
Homes with negative equity: 62,423
Zillow Home Value Index: $105,800
Year-over-year change: -13.35%
6. Merced, California
% of Homes with negative equity: 58.8%
Homes with negative equity: 24,076
Median Home Price: $130,000
Year-over-year change: N/A
5. Modesto, California
% of Homes with negative equity: 60.7%
Homes with negative equity: 54,417
Zillow Home Value Index: $141,100
Year-over-year change: -8.31%
4. Reno, Nevada
% of Homes with negative equity: 64.4%
Homes with negative equity: 45,107
Zillow Home Value Index: $181,600
Year-over-year change: -12.98%
3. Phoenix, Arizona
% of Homes with negative equity: 64.6%
Homes with negative equity: 479,692
Zillow Home Value Index: $141,100
Year-over-year change: -13.90%
2. Orlando, Florida
% of Homes with negative equity: 74.8%
Homes with negative equity: 289,209
Zillow Home Value Index: $125,800
Year-over-year change: -18.07%
1. Las Vegas, Nevada
% of Homes with negative equity: 80.6%
Homes with negative equity: 254,880
Zillow Home Value Index: $131,300
Year-over-year change: -18.16%