LAS VEGAS (AP) - Analysts say about one-third of mortgaged homes in the Las Vegas area were underwater in the first quarter of 2014, although that’s an improvement from the same time last year.
Real estate tracking firm Zillow released a report this week showing progress from the first quarter of 2013, when 48 percent of homeowners owed more than their homes were worth.
The problem is the worst in North Las Vegas, where more than 41 percent of mortgages are underwater. That figure is 34 percent in Las Vegas and 29 percent in Henderson.
Zillow analysts say owners are less likely to put their home for sale when it’s underwater. That limits the housing supply and pushes prices up out of reach of many first-time or middle-class homebuyers.
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