21.5% of homeowners owed more on their mortgage than their home was worth in the second quarter, that’s down from 23.3% in the first quarter and 23% a year ago.
“There are a lot homes caught up in mortgage modifications,” explains Richard Suttmeier of ValuEngine.com, which he says results in a temporary stability in home prices. The key word: temporary.
“There’s waves of more foreclosures coming in the housing market because very few of the HAMP modifications are becoming permanent,” he says.
Meanwhile, the backdoor bailout of the housing market continues. Freddie Mac reported a $4.7 billion second quarter loss Monday and asked the government for another $1.8 billion in aid. Last week, Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac’s larger counterpart - asked the government for $1.5 billion. That brings the total tab for the government-sponsored entities to $148 billion. Suttmeier estimates, Fannie and Freddie, will wind up costing taxpayers at least $400 billion.
All of this housing trouble creates a vicious cycle for the economy, jobs and the fragile banking system, Suttmeier tells Aaron in this clip, predicing another 30% drop in home prices by 2014, as measured by the Case-Shiller Index.
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