Home equity gains posted

Homeowners with mortgages saw their equity grow an average of 9.4 percent year-over-year during the third quarter, according to data.

That represented a gain of nearly $775.2 billion in home equity since the third quarter of 2017, Irvine-based CoreLogic reported.

Nationwide, the average homeowner gained $12,400 in equity during that time.

Homes with mortgages accounted for approximately 63 percent of the U.S. housing market.

Equity grew almost everywhere throughout the country, with the greatest growth recorded in the western United States. In California, the average equity gain was $36,500.

Negative home equity fell 16 percent – from approximately 2.6 million homes – between the third quarter of 2017 and the third quarter of 2018.

In the Inland Empire, 3.8 percent of the homes with mortgages – more than 833,500 – were in negative equity during the third quarter, according to CoreLogic.