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Fewer Tacoma and Lakewood homes are underwater thanks to rising home values

A flag advertising a newly built home for sale flaps in the breeze last year in Richmond, Va. Nationwide, 7.1 percent of home mortgages are underwater, while 2.5 percent statewide meet that definition.
A flag advertising a newly built home for sale flaps in the breeze last year in Richmond, Va. Nationwide, 7.1 percent of home mortgages are underwater, while 2.5 percent statewide meet that definition. The Associated Press file, 2015

Fewer homeowners in Tacoma and Lakewood owe more on their property than its worth.

That’s according to information from real estate data firm CoreLogic.

Four percent of homes in the Tacoma-Lakewood area were underwater in the second quarter of 2016 compared with 7.7 percent in the first quarter of the year.

It’s not that homeowners are paying more on their mortgages, rather, the value of their property has increased over time.

Last week, the company said home values here were up 10.2 percent from the previous year, the same amount as the state’s gain.

“We see home prices rising another 5 percent in the coming year based on the latest projected national CoreLogic Home Price Index,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic.

Nationwide, 7.1 percent of home mortgages are underwater while 2.5 percent statewide meet that ignoble mark.

Kate Martin: 253-597-8542, @KateReports

This story was originally published September 15, 2016 at 3:58 PM with the headline "Fewer Tacoma and Lakewood homes are underwater thanks to rising home values."

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