Wall Street Journal report says situation may threaten the housing recovery
WASHINGTON - Nearly one in four U.S. borrowers owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth, a worrisome sign that the housing recovery could be threatened by a wave of defaults, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
The newspaper said almost 10.7 million households, or 23 percent of mortgage holders, were underwater in the third quarter, and 5.3 million have mortgages that are 20 percent higher than the value of their home as prices have plummeted since the recession began.
The report cited a survey by First American CoreLogic, a Santa Ana, Calif.-based real estate information company, which said more than 520,000 of the borrowers have received a default notice.