Have You Paid More into your House Than it's Currently Worth?

If you added up the payments you've made on your home, how close would that total be to its current post-bubble value?

The Sacramento Bee says many people in the region have actually paid more than the current value of their home, and yet they are still years away from paying it off. It's less extreme in Davis, but similarities exist. 

"Hundreds who bought homes just six years ago have already made enough payments to buy their homes outright at their current values," writes the Bee's data wizard, Phillip Reese. "Almost all of those payments, though, have taken the form of interest. These same residents often still owe about twice what their homes are worth."

Reese looks at Zillow.com home value data and says an average Davis homebuyer in 2005 would have paid around $569,000 for a home. If that person put 10 percent down on a 7 percent, 30-year loan, he or she would have paid around $293,000 by now -- on a home currently worth just over $411,000.

Although Davis has taken a hit, it pales in comparison to some other Sacramento-area communities.

For example, the average home value in Fair Oaks in 2005 was $463,000. That value has fallen nearly 50 percent to $245,000. If someone bought their home in 2005 with the loan mentioned above, they would have paid $238,609 by now. That’s just $7,000 short of the home’s current value.

Rosemont is even more extreme. The value went from $343,000 to $171,000. That home buyer would have paid around $177,000 by now for a home worth only $140,000. 

When you read that a Davis buyer would have paid $293,000 on a home worth about $411,000, it’s a bit easier to swallow when compared to some other communities. Except when you remember that the person will have to pay $596,000 when it’s all said and done.