Zillow reported today that the number of Boston-area homeowners who have negative equity in their homes dropped to 7.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015 from 9.8 percent in Q4 2014. Of those who are under water, 11.6 percent owe at least twice as much as their homes are worth.

Nationwide the negative equity rate fell 0.3 percent from Q3 2015 to 13.1 percent. There are roughly 6 million homeowners with negative equity in the U.S., down from 8 million in Q4 2014.

Zillow’s chief economist Dr. Svenja Gudell said in a statement that while it’s an improvement, negative equity fell last quarter at its slowest pace in a year.

“Things are moving in the right direction, but some owners are still deeply underwater. As we move into the home shopping season, inventory is already low and negative equity is keeping potential additional stock from becoming available,” Gudell said in the statement.