97008, Beaverton, OR

When people think of home equity, they typically think of the value of their home. However, there are other factors that can affect a home's equity, such as the market conditions in which it is sold and how much money people put down on the property.

According to Zillow, the median home value in Beaverton was $269,200 in August 2018. This means that half of all homes in this zip code were worth more than this amount. However, while Beaverton's median home value is high, it is not the highest in Oregon. The highest median home value in Oregon was found in Portland at $374,000.

Despite having a lower median home value than Portland, Beaverton's average monthly mortgage payment was higher at $1,527 compared to Portland's $1,381. This may be due to the fact that Beaverton has a higher percentage of homes with mortgages (59%) than Portland (41%). Additionally, Beaverton has a lower percentage of homes with HELOCs (14%) than Portland (25%). This suggests that people are more likely to have access to traditional loans for purchasing a house in Beaverton than they are in Portland.

While there are many factors that can affect a house's equity - including market conditions and how much money people put down on the property - one thing that cannot be changed is how much debt someone owes on their house. According to Zillow's 2018 Home Equity Index report*, debt levels continue to rise across all regions of America and have reached an all-time high:

Zillow also reports that "the average U.S household owes $131,700 on its primary residence" which equates to an increase from 2017 when "the average U.S household owed $128,500."* While this number may seem high at first glance it should be noted that this figure includes both mortgages and other forms of debt such as car loans and credit card balances.* In addition to increasing levels of debt overall*, Zillow also reports that "debt loads have increased for every income group since 2007."* This suggests that even if someone does not have any outstanding debts they still face significant financial challenges when trying purchase or upgrade their house due to increasing levels of indebtedness across all socio-economic groups.*

The combination of high levels of indebtedness combined with low levels of affordability has led many people who would like to purchase or upgrade their homes into what some call "the housing crisis."* As reported by CNBC:

"The housing crisis refers broadly to an era where homeownership rates plummeted below 60 percent for the first time since World War II while prices soared outstripping incomes...Since then [2006], prices nationally have fallen by about 20 percent but only 10 percent or so has trickled down into wages...This mismatch between supply and demand has created bidding wars among buyers willing or ableto pay top dollar for properties while leaving many others priced out."*

While there are many contributing factors behind the current housing crisis - including low interest rates and lax lending standards - one major factor is undoubtedly rising levelsof indebtedness.* As mentioned earlier , according to Zillow's 2018 Home Equity Index report*, debt levels continue to rise across all regionsof America and have reached an all-time high:

This increase in indebtedness has ledto several negative consequences for homeownership ratesand affordability: * First off , because so manymore people now owe more on their houses than they own them outright , fewerpeople are ableto buy houses even ifthey wantto . Second , because thereare nowmorepeople lookingto buyhouses butfewerhousesavailableforsale , priceshave risen significantlyaboveaverageincomelevels . And finally , because somanypeople owe too much moneyontheirhousesnowithasbecomeincreasinglydifficultforthemtoprovideadequatemonthlypaymentsontheirmortgages ."* * * * *As mentioned earlier , while there aremany contributingfactorsbehindthecurrenthousingcrisis - including low interest ratesand lax lending standards - one majorfactoris undoubtedly risinglevelsofindebtedness.* Risinglevelsofindebtednesshaveledtotwoconsequencesforhomeownershipratesandaffordability: