No, we’re not talking about rising sea levels. According to Investopedia, and underwater home is defined as one that has “a home purchase loan with a higher balance than the free-market value of the home.” ATTOM Data Solutions collects information about underwater homes. According to their data from the second quarter of 2016, there was a drop in the U.S. for seriously underwater homes. Underwater homes in Florida cities did not make the list of being serious, or having a loan-to-value ratio of 125 percent or more.
“South Florida continues to see an equity improvement greater than the national average due to our strong growth,” says Mike Pappas, CEO and president at the Keyes Company. “Our underwater homes saw a 3-times improvement over the average with the high equity owners experiencing a 1.8-times improvement. With our limited land and strong in-migration, we will continue to see improvement in equity.”
The growing lack of underwater homes in Florida is just another reason it’s a great place to buy real estate. Nationwide, underwater homes are doing better, but many areas still struggle.
“Rising home prices are lifting all home equity boats: bailing out seriously underwater homeowners and enriching homeowners who already have positive equity,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions (the new parent company of RealtyTrac). “Nationwide home prices reached a new all-time high in June on the heels of 52 consecutive months of annual increases. While that national trend is consistent in most markets across the country, there are still some local markets and sub-markets that have been largely left behind by the housing recovery and which still have a high percentage of underwater homeowners.”
Looking for a city in a state that has real estate stability? Look no further than Miami. At RE/MAX Paradise, we have beautiful properties, including rentals, condos, and single-family homes.