Negative Equity Is Improving, but Condos Are More Likely to be Underwater

The U.S. rate of underwater homeowners – those who owe more on their home than it's worth – continued to drop in the first half of 2015. But condo owners are still more likely to be stuck in negative equity than people who own single-family homes.

Homes in the low end of the housing market are more likely to be underwater. Fortunately, while homes across the U.S. are appreciating, homes at the low end are appreciating faster. This is causing the negative equity rate to decline.

In the U.S., 14.4 percent of all mortgaged single-family homes are underwater, according to Zillow's Second Quarter Negative Equity report. Condos are lagging behind in the recovery, at 19.3 percent.

Overall, more condos than homes are upside down in every large U.S. housing market except Pittsburgh, Detroit and Memphis.

Here are the top 10 markets where condos are deeper underwater than single-family homes:

1. Jacksonville, FL. The negative equity rate for single-family homes in Jacksonville is at 21.3 percent, more than half the 41.5 percent rate for condos.
2. Chicago, IL. 32.6 percent of condo owners in Chicago are upside down on their mortgage, and 19.2 percent of single-family home owners are upside down on theirs.
3. Orlando, FL. Orlando comes in third with 16.8 percent of single-family homes in negative equity and 29.9 percent of condos are in the same boat.
4. Sacramento, CA. 12.5 percent of single-family homeowners in Sacramento owe more on their home than it's worth, compared to the 25.4 percent of condo owners.
5. Las Vegas, NV. The negative equity rate for condo owners in Las Vegas is 36.7 percent. The rate is 23.8 percent for single-family homeowners.
6. Providence, RI. 25.9 percent of condo owners in Providence are upside down on their mortgage. The rate drops to 14.4 percent when it comes to single-family homes.
7. Columbus, OH. Single-family homes in Columbus have a 13.1 percent negative equity rate, compared to a rate of 24.6 percent in condos.
8. Virginia Beach, VA. The negative equity rate for single-family homes in Virginia Beach is 21.7 percent. That rates jumps to 32.8 percent for condos.
9. Hartford, CT. 25.4 percent of condo owners in Hartford are upside down on their mortgage, compared to 15.1 percent of single-family homeowners.
10. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN. In Minneapolis, the negative equity rate for condo-owners is 22.1 percent. This rate drops to 12 percent in single-family homes.

from Zillow Blog - Real Estate Market Stats, Celebrity Real Estate, and Zillow News http://www.zillow.com/blog/negative-equity-improving-182981/
via Reveeo