Several years ago, the bursting housing bubble had a profound effect on the psychology of couples that were thinking about divorce. Divorce is a stressful enough decision, and when you pile on the effect of a house that you can’t sell, then you have a volatile situation. Luckily (if you can really say that about divorce), the housing market is starting to show signs of improvement. How this will play out in the divorce arena remains to be seen, but my guess is that couples that are attempting to negotiate a divorce settlement will have an easier time now that the value of their house is starting to rebound.
Since the marital home is often the biggest asset that needs to be divided, having equity in the house will most certainly grease the wheels of settlement.