Fewer Homeowners Owe More Than Home's Value

Seattle, WA, Nov. 9, 2009--The number of underwater homeowners fell in the third quarter as values stabilized and some homes were lost to foreclosure, Zillow.com said.

About 21 percent of owners of mortgaged homes owed more than their homes were worth, down from 23 percent in the second quarter, the Seattle-based real estate data provider said today in a report.

“The decline in the percentage of homeowners with negative equity is a positive sign, and is directly attributable to the stabilization of home values from the second quarter to the third,” Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries said in a statement.

“It is also attributable to many homeowners who were previously underwater on their mortgage losing their homes to foreclosure.”

U.S. foreclosure filings climbed to 937,840 in the third quarter, a 23 percent increase from a year earlier, Irvine, California-based RealtyTrac Inc said Oct. 15.