Rising house prices have been a boon to all homeowners, not just those wanting to sell.

Just 7.3 percent of Twin Citians with a mortgage owed more than their house was worth during the third quarter last year, according to a new report from CoreLogic. That's down from nearly 10 percent a year ago and less than half the rate two years ago.

Nationwide, about 5.1 million homes, or 10.3 percent of all properties with a mortgage, were still in negative equity during the third quarter of last year compared with 10.9 percent during the previous quarter and 13.3 percent in the third quarter of 2013. That's a net year-over-year increase in borrower equity of about $800 billion.

"This makes it possible for more people to step up to a bigger house," said Herb Tousley, director of the real estate center in the Opus College of Business at the University of St. Thomas. "For a long time, they were just locked out of the market."