Negative equity is when you owe more than you can sell your home for in the current market.

Negative equity is why there are people in Ann Arbor selling their home Short, or for less than owed.

According to Core Logic, a real estate data and analytic company 29.4 percent of all homes with mortgages in Ann Arbor area underwater for the 3rd quarter.

Now we could look at that and gasp, or we can look at it and say 70.6% of homeowners are fine.

Michigan has consistently been in the top four states with negative equity. Below is a graph, by Core Logic to give you a visual of quarter by quarter for 2010.

The following chart gives you all the states distribution of negative equity.

So nice graphs, and information, Missy. What do I do about it, if I have negative equity in my home?

If you have lost your job, or experienced another hardship and need to move, then be willing to sell your home Short= for less than owed. If there is not hardship and you don’t need to move then just wait until the market rebounds and sell at that time.

According to Fannie Mae, if you sell short and have not been delinquent on your payments, you can purchase again using FHA in one year. IF you have been delinquent than you wait 3 years to purchase again.

A short sale is a much better option than foreclosure or bankruptcy. Either of those options will not allow you to purchase again for 5-10 years depending on your circumstances.

I wrote a post yesterday on if you are a buyer and wanting to search for short sales and foreclosures in Ann Arbor to fill out the form and one of my team members will set you up for a specific search.

For more information on trends and graphs visit the Core Logic web site.