2011_0919_packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Not all underwater homeowners wi Uwalkaway from the I r homes; many wi Ucontinue to pay theiir mortgages because they can afford to and expect the value of their homes to rise again, or, perhaps, just because they love their homes and want to continue living there. Nevertheless, if only one in five underwater homeowners decides to walk away from his or her home, it would double mortgage defaults over 2009. Underwater homes also affect the normal working of housing markets. They limit the ability of the unemployed to sell their homes in order to move for a new job, constrain- ing labor market mobility and economic recovery. They stall the move-up market as well because families are unable to sell their homes to buy the next one, and it can lock older retirees into the suburbs, limiting their ability to move whether to the Sunbelt, to the cit� or to smaller homes in nearby suburban town centers. FIGURE 3: Foreclosure Rate Trends in'Top U.S. Metro Areas,, 2008-2009 Los An L 69403 1.58 1 i 63 324 m��.--_---_�—_---_--__-�_--_---_x`._� San Francisco 221876 1.315 1 in 74 22.1 4t" '(a, .��------------7-8, .�—'-------r17'-----1�'" 8" �--------3, ..�� Washington, D.C. 19318 O91 ---1i�nn--------�� ��,�r--------- ��—'-------��9-----li^ll�--------1�� �Ch'icag----------��065 ---------n.88 -------1in -n3 ----------28.5� 'Minnea—o�s'------ 91767---------0.74------1in-136----------98.7� Sea��---------- �495—'-------n46'----1i��7-------37�� Boston 71962 0.44 1 in 229 19.5 ____________________________ Houston 81482 0.319 1 in 256 -8.1 New York City 241715 0.313, 1 in 299 14.7 U S. Totat 937P840 033 1 in 136 22.5 Source,: RealtyTrac, 2009. R Properties P Percentage of R Rate of C Change from wKhFiUngs H Housing Units F Foreclosure 0 032008 Phoenix 4 401566 2 2.43, 1 1 in41 1 18.6 Miami 5 53.71O 2 2.23 1 1 in 45 3 34.7 Source,: RealtyTrac, 2009. R