About 7.5 million people still owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. And in some counties, numbers are climbing.
The millions of foreclosures stemming from the Great Recession made for dramatic headlines. Now, the housing markets in many of the hardest-hit areas have recovered, and cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York are even seeing record real-estate prices. Yet while the national housing market may be well on the way to recovery, the markets in some areas of the country are actually getting worse, according to a new report out from the Center for American Progress.
The report indicates that there are still more than seven million homeowners who are underwater in America—that is, they owe more on their homes than the homes are worth. In some 1,000 counties, the number of underwater homes is stagnant or increasing, threatening already struggling regions with the potential of more foreclosures, more empty and abandoned homes, and more people who opt to rent instead of buy, which drives up the price of apartments…Please click here to read Alana Semuels’ story in the Atlantic.