Sitting pretty

More than half of Washington homeowners equity-rich

COLUMBIA BASIN — Lots of homeowners are in good shape this year. A recent study by analysis firm ATTOM Data Solutions indicates that nearly half of mortgaged residential properties in the U.S. were considered equity-rich, meaning that the amount owed on them was no more than half the estimated value, the report said. “The way you make money on your home is your equity,” explained Jessie “Weno” Dominguez, CEO of Imagine Realty Group in Othello. “And the way you look at equity is as your savings account. So if I purchased a home, let's say, four years ago, right before the craziness, for $200,000, I put 5% down, I owed $190,000. I've been paying it for five years and owe now $170,000. I kept the house up, maintained it, kept it pretty nice. As home values rise, the prices continue to go up. That same home is now worth, let's say, $425,000, and I owe $170,000. So I'm equity-rich.” The study indicated that in the third quarter of 2022, 48.5% of mortgaged homes were classed as equity-rich, compared to 48.1% in second quarter and 39.5% in the third quarter of 2021. In fact, the the third quarter of 2022 marked the 10th consecutive quarter in which the proportion of equity-rich homes increased, according to the ATTOM report.