This Maine ZIP code has the highest share of 'underwater' homes in the US
As the run-up in Maine home prices continues without let-up, a ZIP code in central Maine tops the U.S. among places that are deep underwater.
New data from a national real-estate tracking company, ATTOM, shows that the “submerged” properties — meaning their mortgage amounts are at least 25% greater than the property values — number 68.2% of the homes in ZIP code 04330. That area covers most of Augusta and parts of several surrounding towns.
The median home value for ZIP code 04330 is $142,100, according to federal data.
Among the national underwater percentages, compiled on the basis of data from the fourth quarter of 2021, the next-highest was for ZIP code 44102, in Cleveland, at 43.3%. Rounding out the top five ZIP codes were 44112, also in Cleveland, at 39.6%; 10570 in Pleasantville, N.Y., 38.6%; and 66441 in Junction City, Kan., 37.1%.
The nationwide average is just 3.1%, according to the ATTOM report, released Thursday. That portion is down from 3.4% of all U.S. homes with a mortgage in the prior quarter, and down from 5.4% a year earlier.
“Equity improved as rising prices widened gaps between what homeowners owed on their mortgages and the value of the properties,” ATTOM said in a news release.
But the firm also noted that “some warning signs of a weakening foundation under the market have emerged in the second half of 2021 in the form of declining home affordability, rising foreclosures and falling investor profits.”
Overall, fewer Maine properties were underwater in Q4 than in the previous three months. In fact, the percentage shrank from 5.8% to 4.4%, the second-sharpest statewide decline in the U.S.
Editor's Note: The description of ZIP code 04330 in this article has been revised.
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That median home value can't be correct, someone needs to review those figures. Zillow shows Rockland at $234K. EDITOR'S NOTE: As the article mentions, the median home value in ZIP code 04330 is indeed $142,100, per census data. ZIP code 04330 does not include Rockland, which is 40 miles away.
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