Новый АТТОМ analysis released Tuesday shows that U.S. homeowners ended 2025 with slightly less equity than earlier in the year, but they still held historically strong positions as the housing market steadied after several years of rapid price gains.
Attom’s Q4 2025 U.S. Home Equity and Underwater Report found that 44.6% of mortgaged residential properties were equity rich, meaning that loan balances totaled no more than half of the estimated market value.
While that share declined from 46.1% in the third quarter and from the recent high point of 49.2% in mid-2024, it remained well above pre-pandemic norms.
At the same time, the share of seriously underwater mortgages edged up modestly. Roughly 3% of mortgaged homes had loan balances at least 25% higher than their estimated value — up from 2.8% the previous quarter.
АТТОМ отчет said Q4 2025 marked the lowest share of equity-rich properties since late 2021 while emphasizing that overall equity levels continue to compare favorably with historical benchmarks.
In early 2020, only about one-quarter of mortgaged homes were considered equity rich.
“After years of rapid gains, homeowner equity is settling into a more sustainable range, and that’s not a negative sign for the market,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “Even with a modest pullback in equity-rich properties and a slight uptick in seriously underwater homes, overall equity levels remain remarkably strong by historical standards.
“As we move toward the spring buying season, these numbers suggest a housing market that is stabilizing rather than overheating, giving homeowners a solid financial foundation while allowing for healthier market dynamics.”
Long-term data shows equity-rich mortgages climbing from roughly 27% in 2019 to nearly 50% by 2022 as цены на жилье surged nationwide.
During the same period, the rates for seriously underwater homes were cut by more than half before leveling off near historic lows.
Most states see declines in equity-rich shares
Between the third and fourth quarters of 2025, the portion of equity-rich mortgaged homes declined in 42 of 49 states, typically by less than 2 percentage points. The same number of states also recorded year-over-year decreases.
The largest year-over-year declines occurred in Флорида, Kentucky, South Carolina, New Mexico and Аризона. By contrast, modest gains were scattered across the Northeast and Midwest — with increases reported in Alaska, North Dakota, Illinois, South Dakota and Нью-Йорк.
States with the highest equity-rich rates continued to cluster in the Northeast and West.
Вермонт led the nation with 87% of its mortgaged homes considered equity rich, followed by New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine and Montana.
More than half of mortgaged homes were equity rich in states like New York, Massachusetts, Hawaii, California and Idaho.
Lower equity-rich shares were more common in the Midwest and South. Louisiana ranked last at 20.1% — with Maryland, the District of Columbia, Kentucky and Iowa also near the bottom.
Underwater mortgages stay near historic lows
Seriously underwater rates changed little nationally, underscoring ongoing stability.
Improvements were recorded in states such as North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Idaho, while the largest increases occurred in Mississippi, Kentucky, the District of Columbia, Louisiana and Maryland.
States with the highest underwater rates were concentrated in the Midwest and South — led by Луизиана at 10.7%.
The lowest rates were found largely in the Northeast and West, with Vermont at 0.7% and several other states below 2%.
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