Tampa Bay homeowners underwater on their mortgages plunges

The number of Tampa Bay homeowners underwater on their mortgages has plunged by more than two-thirds since 2015.

According to Zillow, 34,963 area owners now owe more than their homes are worth compared to 117,867 three years ago.

The news isn't entirely good though. Of the number still underwater, about 2, 200 owe twice as much as their homes are worth. And another 789 have so little equity they wouldn't have enough to sell and use the proceeds for the down payment on another home.

Michael O'Keene/mokee81 - stock.adobe.com

"For much of the country the Great Recession is an increasingly distant memory," said Aaron Terrazas, Zillow's senior economist. "But scattered in neighborhoods across the country ... millions of Americans are still underwater on their mortgages, trapped in their homes with no easy options to regain equity other than waiting. Their struggles mean there are fewer homes on the market for home buyers today."

Nationwide, 9% of homeowners are underwater compared to more than 30% during the worst days of the housing crisis.