Posted on 05/06/2009 6:35:14 PM PDT by traumer
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Home values in the United States extended their fall in the first quarter, with more than one in five homeowners now owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, real estate website Zillow.com said on Wednesday.
U.S. home values posted a year-over-year decline of 14.2 percent to a Zillow Home Value Index of $182,378, resulting in a total 21.8 percent drop since the market peaked in 2006, according to Zillow's first-quarter Real Estate Market Reports, which encompass 161 metropolitan areas and cover the value changes in all homes, not just homes that have recently sold.
U.S. homes lost $704 billion in value during the first quarter and have depreciated $3.8 trillion in the past 12 months, according to analysis of the reports.
Declining home values left 21.9 percent of all American homeowners with negative equity by the end of the first quarter, Zillow said.
By comparison, 17.6 percent of all homeowners owed more on their mortgage than their property was worth in the fourth quarter of 2008, and 14.3 percent were underwater in the third quarter of last year, the reports showed.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Underwater? Isn’t that torture?
Blub...blub...blub... :)
We didn’t buy more home than we could afford, fifteen YEARS ago; more than half-way paid off, due to just throwing a few extra bucks ($25) on the principle each month.
What a concept. ;)
Never fear! ACORN is coming with lead lifevests!
What is more alarming, is that 37% have no mortgage at all.
What does that say about the remaining 63%?
Actually another article states 1 IN 4 (Bloomberg) but didn’t allow posting :o)
Almost a Quarter of US Homeowners Are Underwater
“We didn’t buy more home than we could afford, fifteen YEARS ago; more than half-way paid off, due to just throwing a few extra bucks ($25) on the principle each month.”
Well gee some people haven’t been able to stay in the same location for 15 years and had to buy at the inflated rates or rent an apartment.
And at least 90% of stock/mutual fund-owners took a severe cut in their portfolios bottom line this year. That fact always seems to get over looked in all this whining about decreased home prices.
I have three nephews who have been able to purchase homes this year because prices have become more affordable.
Good news for them!
There are millions who paid inflated housing prices and are now under water. Not all of these folks have bad loans or can’t make their payments.
“There are millions who paid inflated housing prices and are now under water. Not all of these folks have bad loans or can’t make their payments.”
Thats right, just like losing your job doesn’t mean you are a slug or a deadbeat or lazy.
Making people risk adverse means we won’t have the growth and ingenuity that made this country great.
We moved into our house in Dec.'92, with a 15 year mortgage that was paid off in about 8 or 9 years, I don't remember exactly but I do remember that terrific feeling of actually owning the house....Well, co owning it along with the tax assessor.
You can be “underwater” on your mortgage without having bought more home than you can afford. Many that are “underwater” are still able to make their payments, it just means their houses (due to falling prices) are now worth less than they paid for them.
This has happened to quite a few young couples I know. They bought a home a few years ago (during the boom) put 20 percent down, but prices have fallen around 25-30 percent in our area, so they now owe more than their house is worth.
They’re still making their payments and intend to do so, yet they’re still “underwater” on their mortgage.
How about bad judgment? If one paid too much for an over priced dwelling, I’d think it would be a lesson for the next purchase, pay what you think it is worth within your budget
Or idiots like myself who refinanced and "consolidated" my credit card debt, my truck payment, etc.
And then to add insult to injury they tacked on over 5,000 dollars in "closing" costs.
What closing costs!!!??? It took all of 15 minutes to sign something like 100 pages. How in the world could that cost 5,000 dollars.
Oh, well. I don't blame the mortgage guy. As I said, I was an idiot.
“How about bad judgment? If one paid too much for an over priced dwelling, I’d think it would be a lesson for the next purchase, pay what you think it is worth within your budget”
Must be nice to live in a perfect world.
For several years here in central Florida there were bidding wars for homes. Walk away without making an offer and you lost the house.
Think its overpriced? Wait a month and watch it increase 10%.
Want a place to live? Rent an apartment, pay for an overpriced home or find a bridge with room under it.
“Oh, well. I don’t blame the mortgage guy. As I said, I was an idiot. “
There were lots of idiots. There were also lots of predators.
My home was just appraised 80% higher last week than it was 7 years ago.
Are they SCUBA certfied?
and there are many times when some obviously should have walked, think of those who found a place they ‘just loved’ and couldn’t walk away from, whose fault is that?
As for a specific geographic location such as central Florida, even there, I’d guess there are still small towns that real estate would be priced cheaper, or they could buy a piece of land and get a trailer house, there’s options. Bid more than a house is worth and they are going to have to live up to that obligation, it’s their choice
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