25920, Slab Fork, WV

The 25920 zip code of Slab Fork, WV is located in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The population of this zip code was 2,848 as of the 2010 census. Home equity and home prices in this zip code are among the lowest in the state.

The average home value in this zip code was $41,000 as of January 1, 2012. This is far below the statewide average home value of $177,500 and well below the national average home value of $205,200. The median home value in this zip code was also lower than both the statewide median and national median values. In fact, only two other zip codes in West Virginia had lower median home values than Slab Fork's $41,000 figure: Weirton at $40,000 and Parkersburg at $39,900.

Home equity is a key factor in determining a person's ability to buy or sell a house or to borrow money against it. In general terms, homeowners have more equity in their homes than renters do because homeowners can usually sell their homes for more than they paid for them while renters can only rent them out. The amount of equity a homeowner has in his or her home is measured by the "home equity ratio." As of January 1st 2012, the home equity ratio for homeowners living in Slab Fork was just 2%. This means that for every dollar that these homeowners owed on their homes (including mortgage payments and other debts), they had only two dollars worth of assets left (their homes). By contrast, homeowners living elsewhere in West Virginia had an average home equity ratio of 5%. This means that for every dollar that these homeowners owed on their homes (including mortgage payments and other debts), they had five dollars worth of assets left (their homes). Nationwide, the average home equity ratio is 7%.

One reason why Slab Fork's residents have less equity in their homes than people living elsewhere is that there are relatively few houses available for sale here compared to other parts of West Virginia. In fact as recently as 2006 there were still plenty of houses available for sale here but since then demand has outstripped supply so much that there are now very few houses available for purchase or rent. As a result many people who want to buy or rent a house here must go outside Slab Fork to find one. Consequently those who do have access to mortgages often need higher down payments (more money upfront) to qualify for loans here than people living elsewhere would need because lenders are less likely to approve loans with low down payment figures if there are too many similar loan requests from borrowers within a given area from which lenders can't escape easily should things go wrong with any one particular loan applicant/borrower combination