Fewer underwater mortgages could mean highest prices since boom years

From the April issue: Home equity is back! And it’s growing fast: According to the latest data from the Federal Reserve, Americans’ net equity holdings in their homes jumped by nearly half a trillion dollars during the last three months of 2012, and have increased by $1.7 trillion since the spring of 2011.

What does this mean to homeowners? Depending on where they own, it could mean that finally — after years of struggling with underwater mortgages — the market value of their properties has risen enough to put them into positive equity territory. Or closer to break-even equity than they assumed. [more]