Lawler: Negative Equity Quiz

From housing economist Tom Lawler:

Based on proprietary AVMs and available mortgage data, well-known private entities estimate that the percent of residential properties with mortgages where the owner of the property is in a negative equity position (estimated mortgage balance exceeds the value of the property) is:

A. About 10%

B. About 13%

C. About 19%

D. All of the above.

The “correct” answer, of course, is “D,” All of the above.

The 10% estimate is from Black Knight Financial Services (formerly LPS), and is for March 2014.

The 13% estimate (13.3%) is from CoreLogic, and is for Q4/2013.

The 19% estimate (18.8%) is from Zillow, and is for Q1/2014.

Zillow estimates that 10% of mortgaged residential properties have a current LTV of 120% or more.

For Q4/2013, CoreLogic estimates that 5.1% of mortgaged residential properties had a current LTV of 125% or more.