I don't. I worry about what happens when the second dip in the economy happens, and the predictions of a "double dip" recession come true. What happens when those folks that "survived" the first round of massive layoffs, firings, and no-hires come up against a still sluggish economy? What happens when companies take a hard look at bottom lines, and do another reduction in force?
What happens is that the people out there that are still employed, but are limping from paycheck to paycheck, just making it, are going to be unable to make those monthly payments. That's why this report scares the daylights out of me:
There are 4.1 million homeowners with more than 50% negative equity, and another 5 million homeowners with 20% to 50% negative equity.
If prices fall 5%, the columns will essentially shift one to the left (ignoring remedies), and there will be 10.2 million homeowners with 20% or more negative equity.The third graph shows the percent of homeowners with mortgages in negative equity for 33 states and D.C.
This is shown in three categories: >50%, 20% to 50%, and 0 to 20%.
If you look at Nevada, 17.0% of homeowners (with mortgages) are more than 50% underwater, and another 35.2% are 20% to 50% underwater. These are the homeowners most at risk for foreclosure.
