Homeowners now have less equity than a year ago, the first annual decline in a decade

• The average US homeowner with a mortgage has less home equity now than 12 months ago.
• Equity per borrower slipped 1.9% from the same time last year, CoreLogic data shows.
• It’s the first annual decline in homeowner equity since 2012.

The average US homeowner saw their home equity decline year over year for the first time since the first quarter of 2012, in the aftermath of the housing crisis and Great Recession. 

Out of the 63% of US homes with a mortgage, average homeowner equity — the current property value minus what’s still owed on the mortgage — declined 1.9% in the first quarter from the same time last year to $274,070, according to CoreLogic data cited by the Associated Press.