Equity in Americans’ Homes Falls to Historic Low

Drops to 46.2 percent in first quarter — level not seen since end of WWII

The equity Americans have in their most important asset — their homes — has dropped to its lowest level since the end of World War II.

At the end of March, nearly 8.5 million homeowners had negative or no equity in their homes, representing more than 16 percent of all homeowners with a mortgage, according to Moody’s Economy.com Chief Economist Mark Zandi. By June 2009, he estimates that will increase to 12.2 million, or almost one out of every four homeowners with a mortgage.

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