The housing market began to rebound from the Great Recession five years ago. But Ohio continues to be a national leader in troubled mortgages.
Jim Letizia explains.
Numbers compiled by a real estate information service show 17.1 percent of Ohio homeowners owe considerably more on their mortgages than the structures are worth. Attom Data Solutions, formerly known as Realtytrac, says that puts Ohio second in the nation behind Nevada for negative equity. 5.5 million U.S. homeowners were underwater in the first quarter of the year, meaning they owe at least 25 percent more on their mortgages than the value of their homes. That represents a decline from 6.7 million during the same quarter a year ago. The service says 9.7 percent of all homeowners with mortgages are currently underwater. Columbus saw the figures increase by 1.4 percent during the first quarter to 14 percent. Columbus, Dayton, Akron and Toledo are four of the top five cities in the nation for underwater mortgages.
