Zero Equity

U.S. Homeowners Equity Drops
Americans' percentage of equity in their homes fell below 50 per cent for the first time on record since 1945, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board said Thursday. Homeowners' portion of equity slipped to downwardly revised 49.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2007, the central bank reported in its quarterly U.S. Flow of Funds Accounts, and declined further to 47.9 per cent in the fourth quarter — the third straight quarter it was under 50 per cent. That marks the first time homeowners' debt on their houses exceeds their equity since the Fed started tracking the data in 1945.