Housing Cooloff Hits Equity Cushion for Owners in US West, South

  • Equity-rich home share dips 2 percentage points over year
  • Area in Naples, Florida has highest share of equity-rich homes

Homes in Lithonia, Georgia.

Photographer: Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg
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The share of US mortgage borrowers who are equity-rich declined for a second quarter, with owners in the West and South taking the biggest hit in 2023, according to a new study.

Equity-rich mortgages — those that have a loan-to-value ratio of 50% or lower, meaning the borrower’s equity stake is at least half the property’s value — decreased to 46.1% from 47.4% the prior quarter, according to the US Home Equity & Underwater Report published by real estate data firm ATTOM.