The number of Greater Des Moines homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth increased during the third quarter, but remained below national averages, according to a report from real estate research firm CoreLogic Inc.

Slightly more than 13 percent, or 14,261, of Greater Des Moines mortgages were in negative equity status, an increase from 12.8 percent in the second quarter, CoreLogic said. Nationally, 22.1 percent, or 10.7 million, of residential mortgages were for amounts that exceed the value of the home.

Those figures declined slightly from the second quarter, when 10.9 million mortgages were classified as underwater, a condition that occurs from a decline in property value, increase in mortgage debt or a combination of the two