Nearly a Fifth of Mortgage Holders Still Underwater

Seattle, WA, May 20, 2014 -- Nearly 10 million U.S. households still have homes worth less than their mortgage, according to real estate information firm Zillow.

In addition, nearly as many can't sell their homes because they have so little equity that they can't pay the associated expenses without tapping savings.

Zillow said that at the end of the first quarter, 18.8% of homeowners with a mortgage were "underwater" on their mortgage. That's well below the peak of 31.4% 2012.