Most of us have stories from the recession days. You probably knew homeowners who were “underwater”—who owed more on their homes than they were worth. You might even have been in that position yourself.
If so, you may have wondered how common it is for homeowners to find themselves underwater in today’s world. Have things improved since the recession with respect to negative equity?
Buy a Home During Recession
CoreLogic recently released a special report which shed some light on this subject, titled “The Role of Housing in the Longest Economic Expansion.” If you are interested in the full report, you can access it here.
The first key finding which CoreLogic highlights on that page is the drop in negative equity nationwide, which is startling. To quote the page, “The number of homes with negative equity has decreased. Total percent of homes underwater went from 25.9% in the first quarter of 2010 to 4.1% in the first quarter of 2019.”
That is amazing! More than a quarter of homeowners had negative equity during the recession, but that number has dropped almost down to 4% today.
Discussing the data contained in the report, CoreLogic chief economist Frank Nothaft stated, “During the last nine years, the [nationwide economic] expansion has created more than 20 million jobs, raised family incomes and rebuilt consumer confidence. The longest stretch of mortgage rates below 5 percent in more than 60 years has supplemented these factors. These economic forces have driven a recovery in home sales, construction, prices and home equity wealth.”
So, if you were hit hard during the recession, you’ll be reassured to learn that the vast majority of homeowners are no longer in that predicament. And with all that economic growth, this is an ideal time to invest in a home and start building positive equity.
During the recession, many homeowners also struggled to refinance their homes—something else you might have experience with. But today, it is much easier to refinance to a more competitive home loan with the rates and features you are looking for. So that, too, is great news for homeowners in San Diego!
Purchase or Refinance Your Home in San Diego Now
If you are ready to buy a home in San Diego or refinance your home loan, I am excited to make it happen. Please email me or give me a call at (619) 857-7191 today if you would like to schedule a consultation. I can’t wait to chat with you!
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