Underwater Homes Drying Up; Forbearances Decline; 3-Week Mortgage Rate Highs

Underwater Homes Drying Up; Forbearances Decline; 3-Week Mortgage Rate Highs

Thanks to rising home prices. hardly any homeowners find themselves underwater on their mortgages and the few that do are concentrated in a few cities and towns. In fact, ATTOM says that more than one-third of mortgaged homes in the country are considered "equity rich" with a combined loan-to-value (CLTV) ratio below 50 percent. The 34.4 percent of homeowners in that category is up from 31.2 percent the previous quarter and 27.5 percent in the second quarter of 2020. The company, in its second quarter U.S. Home Equity and Underwater Report, shows only 4.1 percent of mortgaged homes, or one in 24, were considered seriously underwater in the second quarter of 2021. Those homes had a CLTV at least 25 percent more than the property's estimated market value. That was down from 5.2 percent of all