An improved 7.7% of Springfield homes underwater

Real estate market tracker CoreLogic reports 5,569 homes were in negative equity in the first quarter, down from 7,534 residences in the same period a year earlier.

That’s 7.7 percent of homes that, as of March 30, were underwater, meaning the borrowers owe more money on their mortgages than their homes are worth. The figure is down from 10.9 percent of all residents in first-quarter 2014, according to a news release.

Nationally, the number of underwater homes was 5.1 million, or 10.2 percent of all mortgage properties, in the first quarter. That’s down from 6.3 million, or 12.9 percent, a year earlier.

"Many homeowners are emerging from the negative equity trap, which bodes well for a continued recovery in the housing market," said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic, in the release. "With the economy improving and homeowners building equity, albeit slowly, the potential exists for an increase in housing stock available for sale, which would ease the current imbalance in supply and demand.”[[In-content Ad]]