Homeowner Equity Increases
CoreLogic released their most recent report indicating that homeowner equity increased by over 8% in 2018.

The increase is attributed to both the increase in home value and the payment on principal for present mortgages.

The total amount of new equity calculated by the data group points to an increase of $678 billion in additional equity, translating into approximately $9,700 per homeowner.

The report also indicates that the number of properties with negative equity fell by 14% in 2018. This translates into over 351,000 homeowners who are no longer underwater in their loans.

The CoreLogic report also points to the strong housing demand over the last 12 months as a reason for keeping the current appreciation momentum moving higher, as in the cases of markets such as Seattle and California for the beneficiaries.

The report specifically cites that Nevada homeowners, on average, gained $29,000 in homeowners equity. California saw an average of approximately $20,000 added to the home equity of owners.

Not all markets participated in the increase in homeowner equity, such as Louisiana and Connecticut, which both saw their equity drop.

The analysts at CoreLogic believe that any increase in home equity will result in a remodeling boom because it provides individuals the capacity to borrow to upgrade or repair their properties. The remodeling trend for 2019 is expected to drive additional renovation spending by 5% over 2018 figures.

With the continued forecast of home appreciation put at 4.5% for 2019, economists at CoreLogic project that another 350,000 homeowners will move from negative equity into positive equity by the end of 2019. Historically, the peak of negative equity over the last 20 years was back in 2009 when, according to CoreLogic. 26% of mortgaged residential properties in the fourth quarter were underwater.

If you have any questions about this information or title insurance, please contact Ralph Aponte: 732.914.1400.

Counsellors Title Agency, www.counsellorstitle.net, founded in 1996, is one of New Jersey’s most respected title agencies, serving all 21 New Jersey counties with title insurance, clearing title, escrow, tidelands searches, and closing and settlement services for commercial or industrial properties, waterfront properties and marinas, condominiums, townhouses or residential single family homes. Counsellors Title also features its own Attorney Settlement Assistance Program™ [ASAP], which is an individual resource customized to fit the needs specifically of real estate attorneys, including, Documentation, Preparation, Disbursement of Funds, Attendance at Closing, HUD Preparation or Post-Closing Matters.

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