Slightly more than 13 million homeowners with a mortgage were in negative equity at the end of the first quarter. Another 9 Million don’t have the equity to move when you consider the usual selling costs. 
Including homeowners with less than 20 percent home equity, the “effective” negative equity rate at the end of the first quarter was 43.6 percent, or a total of 22.3 million homeowners. These homeowners likely cannot afford a down payment for a new home or other costs associated with buying and selling a home, tying them to their current homes and contributing to inventory shortages.
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