Foreclosures help winnow 2Q number of US homes with mortgages higher than property is worth

Number of underwater mortgages in US fell in 2Q

LOS ANGELES — Real estate data provider CoreLogic says the number of U.S. homes with mortgages that exceed what the property is worth declined slightly in the second quarter versus the first three months of this year.

The firm said Thursday there were 11 million homes with so-called underwater mortgages at the end of June. That’s down from 11.2 million at the end of March.

The firm attributed the decline primarily to homes being repossessed by lenders.

In all, 23 percent of U.S. homes with mortgages were underwater at the end of June.

Nevada had the highest rate of underwater mortgages of any state at 68 percent, followed by Arizona at 50 percent and Florida at 46 percent.