Times change, and they frequently change quicker than we think. Black Knight Financial Services drove this point home earlier this week.

We refer specifically to Black Knight and its Mortgage Monitor report. The report shows how dramatically the negative-equity situation has improved in the past five years. As recently as 2011, more than 28% of all borrowers with a mortgage were in negative equity. Today, that percentage is down to 5.6%. This is close to the percentage that prevailed in late 2006.

Black Knight goes on to say, “The first quarter also saw tappable equity grow by $260 billion – a 6% increase in just the first three months of the year. There are now 38 million borrowers who have at least 20% equity in their homes, with an average of $116,000 in tappable equity per borrower.”

This is all good news, of course. It points to a very fluid housing market; one able to maintain stable sales volume and reasonable price appreciation.

Again, times change. We harken back to the post-2008 dark days, when housing prices were trending in one direction – down – with no end in sight.  We kept a positive attitude because we knew the market would eventually clear. Markets always do. A bottom is hit and then the trend reverses.

The moral here is don’t despair during the down times, but don’t take the up times for granted either.

Information provided by Jessica Regan.

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