The share of seriously underwater homes increased quarterly for the first time since 2012, according to housing data firm RealtyTrac.
More than 7.3 million properties across the country had a combined loan amount at least 25% higher than their estimated value. Altogether, 13.2% of properties with a mortgage were seriously underwater during the first quarter, up 0.4 percentage points from the previous quarter but down 4 percentage points from the same period in 2014.
"At the end of 2014 we saw the lowest share of seriously underwater properties since we began tracking such data, but in the first quarter that share bumped up slightly as home price appreciation continued to slow down in many markets," said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, in a news release.
Equity-rich properties declined as well in the first quarter to 19.8% of all properties from 20.3% a quarter before.
Most of the markets with the highest percentage of seriously underwater properties were located in Florida, with Lakeland having the highest share at 28.7%. Las Vegas was the leader in terms of markets where the share of seriously underwater distressed properties exceeded 50%.
