Homeowners should be feeling richer. The share of equity-rich properties rose to a new high—26 percent of homeowners with a mortgage in the third quarter, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ Q3 2017 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report.In the third quarter, there were more than 14 million U.S. properties considered equity rich, which is when the combined loan amount secured by the property is 50 percent or less of the estimated market value of the property. The number of equity-rich properties is up by 905,000 compared to a year ago, according to the report.“Median home prices nationwide are up 9.4 percent so far in 2017, the fastest pace of appreciation through the first three quarters of a year since 2013,” says Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions. “Continued home price appreciation is helping to grow the number of equity-rich homeowners across the country compared to a year ago.”ATTOM Data Solutions found these areas (in metros with a population of 500,000 or more) had the highest share of equity-rich properties:

1. San Jose, Calif.: 61%
2. San Francisco: 56.4%
3. Los Angeles: 45.3%
4. Honolulu: 43.9%
5. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif.: 38.7%
6. Seattle: 38.7%
7. San Diego: 38.3%
8. Portland, Ore.: 36.7%
9. Austin, Texas: 35.8%
10. Stockton, Calif.: 35.2%

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