Almost one-quarter of U.S. homes sold in the past year were for a loss

[Liberal_in_LA]

http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_10181315

Denver tracks with the national averages, which show almost one-third of U.S. homeowners who bought in the last five years owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth.

Second-quarter home prices nationally fell 9.9 percent from a year earlier, giving 29 percent of owners negative equity, said Zillow, the Seattle- based service that offers values on more than 80 million homes. For those who bought at the 2006 peak of the housing market, 45 percent are now underwater, Zillow said.

Negative equity and declining prices contribute to the foreclosure rate because some homeowners don't have the cash to pay off the mortgage and end up surrendering their homes to the bank that holds the loan, said Stan Humphries, Zillow's vice president of data and analytics.

"For homeowners who need to sell, this is a gravely serious situation," Humphries said. "It can also be harmful to communities where the number of unsold homes adds more to inventory and puts downward pressure on prices."

Almost one-quarter of U.S. homes sold in the past year were for a loss, Zillow said.

The highest percentages of homeowners with negative equity were in California.