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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 78 July 2025 J O U R N A L ers, or 2.1% of homeowners with a mort- gage, are in negative equity. The average equity gains in Boston, Massachusetts, and New York, New York, were $25,200 and $20,600 per year, respectively. However, between Q1 2024 and Q1 2025, homeowners nationwide lost an average of $4,200 in equity. Compared to the $4,300 they made in Q4 2023–2024 or the roughly $30,000 yearly growth they experienced in 2023–Q1 2024, that represents a sizable loss. "Geographical differences are important here as the national average is being pulled down by weakening mar- kets in the South—particularly in Texas and Florida—that are masking strong equity growth in the Northeast," Hepp said. "However, given the weakening of prices in the South and affordability concerns for existing homeowners due to rising insurance and taxes, as well as the prevalence of natural disasters in those areas which can wipe out home equity, there are many areas in the South where we are likely to see increas- es in negative equity going forward." The largest increases in home equity occurred in Northeastern states. Rhode Island and New Jersey saw the highest YoY equity gains, gaining $36,500 and $35,700, respectively, and both states saw new highs in Q1. Of the 27 states that reported yearly equity losses, the top three were: • Hawaii (-$65.9K) • Washington D.C. (-$29.6K) • Florida (-$26.3K) By the conclusion of Q1 2025, neg- ative equity had a total value of about $350 billion nationwide. It is up about $10.7 billion, or 3%, from $340 billion in Q4 2024, and up about $26.6 billion, or 8%, from $324 billion in Q1 2024, YoY. Although the percentage of home- owners with a mortgage in negative equity has steadily increased to 2.1%, it is still far lower than the 3.6% pre-pan- demic rate and only slightly higher than the 1.7% low in Q2 2024. According to the Cotality equity data analysis, which started in Q3 2009, negative equity reached its highest point in Q4 2009, at 26% of mortgaged residential properties. Negative Equity Share for Select Metro Areas — National MSA Name Negative Equity Share — Q1 2025 YoY Average Equity Gain — Q1 2025 Boston 1.1% $25,200 Chicago-Naperville-Schaumburg, IL 2.5% $11,900 Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO 1.4% -$13,500 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, Texas 1.7% -$20,900 Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV 0.6% $11,100 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA 0.8% $200 Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL 1.2% -$4,000 New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ 2.4% $20,600 San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA 1% -$100 Washington, DC-MD 2.3% -$11,900 Note: This data only includes properties with a mortgage. Non-mortgaged properties are, by definition, not included. Map of Average Year-Over-Year (YoY) Equity Gain Per Borrower