So you felt left out when you weren't invited to the big party last night.

But at least you don't have a hangover this morning.

That's sort of what the Lancaster County's real estate market has gone through.

It missed the wildest and craziest parts of the infamous real estate "bubble" in 2005-2007, when sales and prices skyrocketed.

Yet that's helped to put it in better shape than most of the nation, a new report shows.

Lancaster County has the seventh fewest "under water" homeowners in the country, according to Zillow.com.

Homeowners are considered "under water" when they owe more on their mortgages than their homes would bring if sold in the current market.

The stellar ranking is largely because homes here are holding their value better than in other areas, though sales have skidded recently.

In the second quarter, 8.0 percent of single family homeowners here were "under water," down from 13.4 percent in the first quarter.

Nationwide, 21.5 percent of homeowners with mortgages nationwide were "under water" in the second quarter, said Zillow.

"As we always say, each market is local," observed Bob Rose, president of the Lancaster County Association of Realtors.

"Are we as well off as we were in 2007? No. But there are a lot of areas that would like to be in our situation," he added.

Zillow is a Seattle-based real estate data website. Its new report ranked 124 metro areas.

Pittsburgh had the fewest "under water" homeowners at 5.6 percent. Las Vegas had the most at 73.9 percent.

The Zillow list is lengthy but not exhaustive.

For instance, it contains just five of 14 Pennsylvania metros, omitting Harrisburg, Reading, Erie and other major communities.

While adding metros might have bumped the county down a few notches, the "under water" rate here still was about a third of the national rate.

"You have a very stable market," observed Zillow spokeswoman Katie Curnette last week.

"It hasn't been immune to the entire downturn, but it's definitely weathered it better."

The local market "hasn't seen the dramatic ups and downs" experienced in many markets, such as much of Florida and California.

Curnette likened the county's real estate market to those in many Midwest towns.

There as here, prices didn't climb as much as they did in the go-go markets. But now that those days are gone, prices haven't plunged as much.

"Lancaster County has a pretty flat housing market (in terms of values). But in the current climate, flat is good," said Curnette.

Relatively flat home values can keep a homeowner "above water."

That's what's happening in Lancaster County.

Here, home values are down just 7.2 percent from the local market's peak in the third quarter of 2007, said Curnette.

The local dip is just a third of the 23.9 percent drop in home values nationwide since the peak.

And since March, local values have been bouncing back — good news for homeowners trying to get their heads above water.

"That's the biggest factor in pulling people out of 'negative equity,' because their homes are worth more," Curnette said.

In contrast, tumbling values can push a homeowner "under water," also known as being "upside down" or having "negative equity."

That makes the homeowner more vulnerable to foreclosure.

"For many people," explained Curnette, "being 'under water' doesn't mean anything bad will happen. It's like an unrealized loss in the stock market.

"If they can ride it out until they're above water, they're going to be fine."

Unfortunately, if they get hit with an "economic shock" such as a job loss or divorce, their odds of "riding it out" go way down, she said.

Rose, the LCAR president, said the county's favorable ranking on the "under water" list also was helped by the "conservative culture" here.

Homeowners here traditionally have avoided borrowing the full purchase price, or more.

Such heavy borrowing makes it easier for the homebuyer to get pushed "under water" if home values dip.

Rose said he was "elated" by the Zillow ranking, which comes amid a slump in sales since the homebuyer tax credit ended April 30.

The rebound in home values also is good news for the industry, because it helps reassure potential homebuyers about investing in a property. The median single-family home here was worth $179,000 as of Sept. 1, according to Zillow, up $3,000 since March.

The Zillow data parallels recent LCAR data on what homes sold for here. The average sales price in July was $210,000, up 8 percent.

tmekeel@lnpnews.com