ABC News reports on a new study showing that Michigan is among six states with large numbers of homeowners “underwater” — meaning they owe more on their mortgage than the property is currently worth:
Here’s a shocker: almost half of Nevada homeowners with a mortgage owe more to the bank than their homes are worth.
Here’s another: If you add in the homeowners like them in California, Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Michigan, together they account for nearly 60 percent of all homeowners who are “underwater” on their mortgages.
Nationwide, almost one out of every five homeowners with a mortgage owes more to their lender than their properties are worth. But if you subtract those states, the rate drops to about one in 10, according to a report released Friday by First American CoreLogic.
Homeowners in this situation have few options if they fall behind on their mortgage; the lack of equity makes it virtually impossible to refinance into a better mortgage. This is a key factor in the mortgage foreclosure crisis that has financial markets reeling in the U.S.