Short List

Positive results

Many beleaguered homeowners who had owed more on their mortgages than their homes were worth are getting some relief. Rising home prices brought equity gains for 312,000 residential properties in the first quarter, according to CoreLogic.

Still, 6.3 million homes with a mortgage (12.7 percent) remain in negative equity, while 10.1 million properties have equity but are considered undervalued.

The national aggregate value of negative equity was $383.7 billion for first quarter 2014, compared to $400 billion for fourth quarter 2013, a decrease of $16.3 billion.

“Prices continue to rise across most of the country and significantly fewer borrowers are underwater today compared to last year,” says Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “An additional rise in home prices of 5 percent, which we are projecting will occur over the next 12 months, will lift another 1.2 million properties out of the negative equity trap.”