Nearly 0.5M homes underwater

In nearly half a million cases along the Gulf Coast, homeowners with a mortgage owed more than their house was worth at the end of this year's third quarter, according to CoreLogic.

In the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater market, 310,543 residential properties with a mortgage were in negative equity at the end of the quarter. That total represents 45.7% of the area market. Another 30,308 properties (4.5%) were in near negative equity, CoreLogic said.

In North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, 84,269 residential properties with a mortgage (42.5% of the houses with mortgages) were in negative equity, with an additional 7,126 (3.6%) in near negative equity. In Cape Coral-Fort Myers, 82,958 residential properties with a mortgage (49.5%) were in negative equity, with an additional 5,924 (3.5%) in near negative equity in Cape Coral-Fort Myers.

Statewide, 46% of Florida residential properties with a mortgage are underwater. The nationwide rate is 22.5%, with $8.85 trillion owed against $12.71 trillion in total property value, good for $3.86 trillion in net equity across the U.S.