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Illinois ranks third in seriously underwater mortgages

RealtyTrac today released its U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report for the first quarter of 2014. Thirty percent of all Illinois homes with a mortgage were seriously underwater, i.e. had a combined loan amount secured by the property at least 25 percent higher than the property’s estimated market value. Illinois ranked third behind Nevada (34%) and Florida (31%).

According to RealtyTrac:

… 9.1 million U.S. residential properties were seriously underwater — where the combined loan amount secured by the property is at least 25 percent higher than the property’s estimated market value — representing 17 percent of all properties with a mortgage in the first quarter.

The first quarter negative equity numbers were down to the lowest level since RealtyTrac began reporting negative equity in the first quarter of 2012. In the fourth quarter of 2013, 9.3 million residential properties representing 19 percent of all properties with a mortgage were seriously underwater, and in the first quarter of 2013 10.9 million residential properties representing 26 percent of all properties with a mortgage were seriously underwater. The recent peak in negative equity was the second quarter of 2012, when 12.8 million U.S. residential properties representing 29 percent of all properties with a mortgage were seriously underwater.

The universe of equity-rich properties — those with at least 50 percent equity — grew to 9.9 million representing 19 percent of all properties with a mortgage in the first quarter, up from 9.1 million representing 18 percent of all properties with a mortgage in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Another 8.5 million properties were on the verge of resurfacing in the first quarter, with between 10 percent negative equity and 10 percent positive equity. This segment represented 16 percent of all properties with a mortgage in the first quarter. That was compared to 8.3 million properties representing 17 percent of all properties with a mortgage in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Fewer distressed properties had negative equity in the first quarter, with 45 percent of all properties in the foreclosure process seriously underwater — down from 48 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013 and down from 58 percent in the first quarter of 2013. Conversely, the share of foreclosures with positive equity increased to 35 percent in the first quarter, up from 31 percent in the fourth quarter and up from 24 percent in the third quarter of 2013.

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