CoreLogic, an analytics firm, stated that 1.3 million loan borrowers reached a positive state by mid 2012 while 100,000 borrowers had more positive equity territory by the end of 2012.  Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic said, “The number of underwater borrowers declined significantly. The substantive gain in house prices made in 2012, partly due to tight inventory caused by negative equity’s lock-out effect, has paradoxically alleviated some of the pain.” It is estimated that over 1.8 million borrowers will have equity in the next year if home prices continue to grow. More here