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Homes in New England are among the most equity-rich in the nation, according to a new report from Attom.
Massachusetts was fourth in the nation in regards to homes that are “underwater” in terms of equity in the first quarter, the real estate data firm estimated. But that’s a relative measure: Only 1.2 percent of homes were regarded as being “seriously underwater,” a low figure historically.
A “seriously underwater” home is one where the combined estimated balance of loans secured by the property is at least 25 percent more than the property’s estimated market value.
Connecticut saw the largest annual increase in the proportion of equity-rich homes in the country. The nutmeg state was up from 42.2 percent in the first quarter of 2024 to 48 percent in the first quarter of 2025.
“Home equity rates are near their highest points in recent years and the dip we’ve seen early this year in the proportion of equity-rich homes shouldn’t cause too much concern,” Attom CEO Rob Barber said in a statement. “In each of the two previous years, the first quarter marked the lowest point of the year before the proportion of equity-rich homes shot back up in the second quarter.”
The Attom report found 46.2 percent of mortgaged residential properties in the country were considered equity-rich in the first quarter, meaning the combined estimated amount of loan balances secured by those properties was no more than half of their estimated market value.
The proportion of equity-rich homes was down from 47.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024 and has dropped each quarter since a peak of 49.2 percent in the second quarter of 2024.
The percentage of seriously underwater homes nationwide increased slightly from 2.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 2.8 percent in the first quarter of 2025.
According to data from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, Massachusetts mortgage lenders of all types made $1.84 billion worth of home equity loans in the first quarter of 2025 across 9,155 loans, the most recent data available. That’s up from $1.45 billion in the first quarter of 2024 and $1.55 billion in the first quarter of 2023,, but down from $1.95 billion in the first quarter of 2022.
