(Illinois News Network) – Illinois has more homeowners with mortgages that are higher than what their homes could fetch on the market than nearly any other state – and the problem is getting worse.
In the second quarter of 2018, 18 percent of Illinois’ homes were considered seriously underwater, or mortgaged for more than 25 percent of the potential sale price of the house. That’s according to ATTOM Data Solutions’report released Thursday. That’s higher than it has been since 2016. In some of Chicago’s western suburbs, more than 70 percent of homeowners owe 25 percent more than the price their home would sell for.
The national average for the second quarter was 10 percent.
Many of those areas are seeing big home value deficits because buyers pulled the trigger at the height of home prices. Geneva (76.0 percent); Elgin (75.5 percent); St. Charles (73.6 percent); and Sugar Grove (71.9 percent) were behind only Springfield, Missouri, in terms of percentage of residents more than 25 percent underwater on their homes.
“Even though those markets are recovering and home prices are coming back slowly, they haven’t recovered the equity loss during the downturn,” ATTOM vice president Daren Blomquist said.
Twelve of the top 20 markets for percentage of seriously underwater homes were in Illinois.
|
State |
County |
City |
Population |
Units |
Underwater x 125% |
Percentage |
|
Missouri |
Greene |
Springfield |
11,867 |
4,768 |
2,443 |
81.0% |
|
Illinois |
Kane |
Geneva |
29,127 |
10,579 |
6,514 |
76.0% |
|
Illinois |
Kane |
Elgin |
20,761 |
7,209 |
4,843 |
75.5% |
|
Illinois |
Kane |
Saint Charles |
26,334 |
8,427 |
5,325 |
73.6% |
|
Illinois |
Kane |
Sugar Grove |
11,877 |
4,287 |
2,566 |
71.9% |
|
New Jersey |
Mercer |
Trenton |
25,906 |
9,815 |
2,354 |
71.5% |
|
Missouri |
Greene |
Springfield |
22,857 |
9,448 |
3,840 |
71.5% |
|
Illinois |
Kane |
Elburn |
10,169 |
3,636 |
2,093 |
71.2% |
|
Missouri |
Jasper |
Webb City |
14,635 |
6,139 |
1,953 |
70.3% |
|
Illinois |
Kane |
Saint Charles |
31,047 |
12,850 |
5,477 |
67.6% |
|
Illinois |
Kane |
Batavia |
29,502 |
11,233 |
5,087 |
66.7% |
|
Illinois |
Kane |
Dundee |
15,705 |
6,490 |
2,849 |
66.2% |
|
Pennsylvania |
Clearfield |
Du Bois |
19,266 |
9,496 |
2,133 |
66.1% |
|
Missouri |
Greene |
Republic |
18,037 |
7,278 |
2,932 |
65.5% |
|
Illinois |
Kane |
Hampshire |
15,985 |
6,040 |
3,134 |
65.4% |
|
Missouri |
Saint Louis |
Saint Louis |
20,460 |
8,779 |
3,080 |
65.4% |
|
Illinois |
Kane |
South Elgin |
23,068 |
7,661 |
4,232 |
65.1% |
|
Missouri |
Jasper |
Joplin |
36,916 |
17,563 |
3,336 |
64.7% |
|
Illinois |
Cook |
Harvey |
29,826 |
14,140 |
2,561 |
64.6% |
|
Illinois |
Winnebago |
Rockford |
19,622 |
9,105 |
1,668 |
63.9% |
Losses in population, seen in nearly every county in Illinois in 2017 Census reports, tend to push home values down since the demand for homes is slowed.
“It even makes it tougher for those who still own homes there to recover equity and, in fact, you may see them lose equity,” Blomquist said.
The city of Peoria, which saw the biggest percentage of population loss in 2017, had 46 and 29 percent of homes in it’s two zip codes register as seriously underwater.
