While 200,000 more residential properties nationally regained positive equity in the fourth quarter, a growing number of midstate mortgages were underwater, according to California-based real estate research firm CoreLogic.
In the York-Hanover area, 18.6 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage were in negative equity in the fourth quarter. That was up from 14.1 percent in the third quarter.
An additional 7.4 percent were in near-negative equity compared with 6.9 percent in the previous quarter, according to CoreLogic.
Negative equity means that a borrower owes more on their mortgage than their home is worth. It can occur because of a decline in value, an increase in mortgage debt or a combination of both.
In Lancaster County, 7.3 percent of residential properties with a mortgage were in negative equity compared with 7 percent in the third quarter. And 4.3 percent more were in near-negative equity compared with 4 percent in the third quarter, according to CoreLogic.
In Harrisburg-Carlisle, negative equity captured 13.9 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage compared with 8.7 percent in the third quarter. An additional 7.5 percent were in near-negative equity compared with 5.6 percent in the third quarter.
There was no available report for Lebanon County.
CoreLogic data includes 49 million properties with a mortgage, which accounts for more than 85 percent of all U.S. mortgages.
The aggregate value of negative equity in the U.S. at the end of 2012 was $628 billion. That was down from $670 billion at the end of the third quarter.
Rising home prices helped drive the improvement, according to CoreLogic.
