Mortgage holders lost massive amount of equity in the third quarter: report
The report stated they lost a total of $1.3 trillion
The Agency CEO Mauricio Umansky weighs in on the housing slowdown, telling 'Cavuto: Coast to Coast' high interest rates are really affecting homebuyers.
U.S. mortgage holders saw a massive loss of equity in the third quarter, mortgage-lending software and analytics company Black Knight found.
Black Knight’s Mortgage Monitor Report, released Tuesday, said the total homeowner equity lost in the three-month period amounted to $1.3 trillion. It marked the "largest quarterly decline on record by dollar value and the largest since 2009 on a percentage basis," company data and analytics president Ben Graboske said in a statement.
MORTGAGE RATES REMAIN HIGH, BUT DIP UNDER 7%
Moreover, total homeowner equity had dropped almost $1.5 trillion since May, when Black Knight said it peaked. From May to the end of September, the company said the average borrower lost $30,000.
A residential home loan application is arranged for a photograph in San Francisco, California, on July 19, 2012. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"While additional declines may be on the horizon, homeowner positions broadly remain strong," Graboske said. "Overall mortgage holder equity is still $5T (+46%) above pre-pandemic levels, for an average gain of more than $92K per borrower during that period."
The Mortgage Monitor Report found that less than 500,000 homes across the country are underwater, up roughly 275,000 over a four-month period.
HOUSING MARKET WILL LEAD US INTO A RECESSION, AND WILL LEAD US OUT: MBA FORECAST
From May to the end of September, the average borrower reportedly lost $30,000. (iStock / iStock)
Grabroske stated that "just 3.6% of nearly 53M U.S. mortgage holders are either underwater or have less than 10% equity in their homes – roughly half the share coming into the pandemic."
The mortgage-lending software and analytics company noted there were price corrections across the country for a third consecutive month, with September’s median home price dropping 0.52%. Still, in 50 of the largest U.S. housing markets, home values remain 19% to 66% higher since March 2020, according to Black Knight.
A for sale sign in front of a house on Oct. 6, 2020, in Westwood, Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File / AP Newsroom)
The interest rate-sensitive housing market has been grappling with rising mortgage rates and high home prices. Fannie Mae found in a recent survey that only 16% of consumers thought it was a good time to buy a home in October, FOX Business previously reported.