Over 20% of homeowners with a mortgage (13.7% of the all homes) owe more than their home is worth. This makes sense on a number of different levels and is not as negative as it looks at first glance. Values have come down and if - and a lot did - purchased with little or no down payment at the height of the market they obviously owe more than what the home is worth now. One thing that is overlooked is that many of those buyers choose to keep their down payment in other investments (IRA, cash, etc.) or they payed off other consumer debt keeping their total monthly cash outlay lower. See the previouse post about home appreciation.
Over 20% of homeowners with a mortgage (13.7% of the all homes) owe more than their home is worth.
This makes sense on a number of different levels and is not as negative as it looks at first glance. Values have come down and if - and a lot did - purchased with little or no down payment at the height of the market they obviously owe more than what the home is worth now. One thing that is overlooked is that many of those buyers choose to keep their down payment in other investments (IRA, cash, etc.) or they payed off other consumer debt keeping their total monthly cash outlay lower. See the previouse post about home appreciation.