We are sure there are some happy fathers who will be celebrating this Father’s Day very differently from a a time not so long ago. They are the Dads who are part of more than three-quarters of a million homeowners who rescued their mortgages from an underwater condition in 2013. Happy Father’s Day to all those families!

Investopedia states that “under water” means that an owner’s home purchase loan is a “higher balance than the free-market value of the home. ” This situation prevents the homeowner from selling the home unless she or he has cash to pay the loss out of pocket. It also prevents the homeowner from refinancing in most cases.

Just as significant is the fact that 39 million households have obtained positive equity in their homes.

By the way, what is Negative equity?
Negative equity means that owners owe more on their mortgages than their homes are actually worth. There are three significant ways Negative equity can happen to a home owner:

1. …because of a decline in market value,

2. …because of an increase in mortgage debt

3. …because of a combination of both.

Dr. Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic stated that the home price gains “have had a big impact on the distribution of residential home equity.” He added, “During the past year, 1.7 million borrowers have regained positive equity.” He did not want us to become overly optimistic, so he qualified his comments by saying, “We expect the pent-up supply that falling negative equity releases will moderate price gains in many of the fast-appreciating markets this spring.”

A Few More Equity Statistics

Out of the 39 million properties mentioned above, Corelogic reported that 11.2 million have under 20 percent equity. All though they are not “under water,” this means they are “under-equitied. Their owners might have a rough time with any refinancing options. 2.1 million had less than 5 percent equity, so that would be “referred to as near-negative equity.” Are you wondering where you stand? According to Corelogic, “The average amount of equity for all properties with a mortgage is 32.8 percent.” Interesting?

We want to pause and wish a Happy Father’s Day all those who are not exactly fathers, but who perform fatherly duties for us. Happy Fathers Day to the step-fathers, brother in-laws, uncles, brothers, and friends who nourish and nurture our families! In the famous words of Phillip Whitmore, “Any fool can be a Father, but it takes a real man to be a Daddy!”