In the United States, the property market continues to provide poor numbers, numbers that many find are even more staggering than the last. The Associated Press reported that the percentage of equity that Americans have in their homes has dropped to below 50%. This low has not been seen since 1945 – this according to reports released by the Federal Reserve.
In the second quarter of 2007, numbers slipped to 49.6%. Furthermore, it went as low as 47.9% in the fourth quarter.
Further worry is on the horizon as more and more investors begin to look at the potential concern of the property market as it continues to weaken. As property becomes harder to sell, property prices here will fall. With this the value of property not even on the market will come down, which would further cause equity in homes to fall even more.
According to Moody's Economy.com reports, an estimated 8.8 million property owners currently do not have any equity in their homes or have negative equity in it, or will so by the end of this month. That is about 10.3% of homes in the country. Further, the group says that if property prices fall, a full 20% below the peak levels, some 13.8 million properties, or nearly 16% of homes will be upside down.