These U.S. Zip Codes Have Highest Share of Troubled Properties

A real estate agent, left, shows first time home buyers a room inside a home for sale in Warren, Michigan. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

Four zip codes in Illinois and one in Missouri hold the dubious honor of hosting the largest share of seriously underwater properties in the aftermath of the U.S. housing market collapse a decade ago, according to ATTOM Data Solutions. A seriously underwater home is defined as a property with a combined estimated loan balance at least 25% higher than the property’s estimated market value.

“The share of seriously underwater properties has dropped well below 10% in bellwether housing markets such as California, Washington, Texas, Colorado and New York, but the underwater rate remains stubbornly high in markets where price appreciation has not been as strong during the housing recovery of the last six years,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM.