According to the latest research by First American CoreLogic, average Las Vegas area homeowners will not return to positive equity in their homes until the year 2020. Negative equity, also referred to as “being underwater,” refers to a homeowner owing more on the mortgage than the home is worth. In the U.S., the typical underwater borrower’s negative equity will take until early 2016 to disappear. Over the next 10 years, the average loan balance will decrease by an annual rate of 3.3%. Meanwhile, home prices are expected to increase at an annual rate of 3%. This means that paying down the loan balance is a more significant remedy to negative equity. Even when the projections were analyzed with a higher price appreciation than average, Las Vegas homeowners are projected to have negative equity until 2017. It looks like underwater homeowners have a while before times become positive again.
Tisha Black Chernine, Esq.
