About 3% of America's affluent are "under water" with the mortgage on their primary residence according to a fall 2011 survey by the American Affluence Research Center.

An additional 5% of the affluent report that the debt on their home is equal to the market value of the home. Thus 8% of the affluent have a mortgage that equals or exceeds the value of their primary residence.

These numbers compare to an estimated 25% of all U.S. households that are believed to be making payments on a mortgage that exceeds the market value of the home.

Among the affluent in the survey, those most likely to have a mortgage that equals or exceeds the value of their home are those under age 50 (16%), those with a net worth between $800,000 and $1.5 million (11%), and those with a home valued below $750,000 (12%).

To be included in this survey, the respondents were required to have a minimum $800,000 net worth, which is the threshold for the wealthiest 10% of U.S. households, according to Federal Reserve Board research. On average, the survey respondents have an income of $282,000 per year and a net worth of $3.1 million. The average value of their primary residence is $1.1 million.

The national survey by the American Affluence Research Center provides further evidence that most of the affluent have accumulated their wealth by living within their means through careful spending and aggressive saving. This is consistent with over 30 years of research by Thomas Stanley, author of <u>The Millionaire Next Door</u> and other books on the affluent. Over a third of the survey respondents have an income below $150,000 and about half reported an income below $200,000.

About a third of the affluent in the survey report they have no debt on their home. Those most likely to have no debt on their home are the age 60+ group (50%), those with an income below $200,000 (41%), and those with a net worth of $6 million or more (55%).

On average, those with equity in their home indicated that their equity equaled 72% of the market value of the home. The groups with the highest level of equity were those age 60+, those with an income below $200,000, and those with a net worth of $6 million or more. There was very little difference between the different levels of home values.

Those with the least equity as a percent of the home's market value are the under 50 age group and those with a net worth under $1.5 million.

The survey results are based on responses from 499 men and women that responded promptly and met the minimum net worth requirement. The survey is representative of the 11.4 million households that comprise the wealthiest 10% of U.S. households.