Cities With the Most (and Least) Underwater Mortgages

Zillow also calculated an “effective” negative equity rate of 34.8%, which includes homeowners who have less than 20% equity in their homes. The “effective” rate is down from 36.9% a year ago.

Of the 35 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, the following had the highest negative equity rates at the end of the second quarter:

1. Atlanta, 28.9%
2. Las Vegas, 27.4%
3. Chicago, 27.1%
4. Orlando, 24.9%
5. Tampa, 23.7%
6. Detroit, 23.2%

Those with the lowest rates were:

1. San Jose, 4.6%
2. San Francisco, 8.2%
3. Austin, 8.3%
4. Houston, 8.4%
5. Los Angeles, 9.3%

Based on mortgage-holders ages, some 19.6% of Gen-X (ages 20 to 34) homeowners are underwater, compared with 18.7% of those ages 35 to 49 and 10.9% of those between the ages of 50 and 64.

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