Financial Physician’s Daily RX
Top 10 Cities Drowning With Underwater Mortgages
24/7 Wall St. has done it again with another dramatic interpretation of national housing data and analytics firm Core Logic (a leading provider of financial, the property and consumer information), the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S Census Bureau. In this report, they identify the nations housing markets hardest hit by underwater mortgages.
Nationwide, 11 million homeowners have underwater mortgages; nearly one in four homes in America.
An overabundant of supply has lead to dramatically falling home values throughout the country. The hardest hits cities are geographically distinctive to California, the Southwest and Florida, those locations which were all thriving housing markets prior to the financial meltdown. In Las Vegas, home prices have plummeted by as much as 60 percent in some cases, compared to pre-recession prices.
The hardest hit cities also boast some of the highest unemployment rates in the country, partially as a result of the housing crash that put them where they are now.
By comparing unemployment and the year the home was built to the number of home sales that had been repossessed, and those sold as short sales, 24/7 Wall Street identifies the top 10 regions built around urban areas that suffer the most from underwater mortgages, with some sad numbers to follow.
These are 24.7 Wall Street’s American cites sunk by underwater mortgages:
10. Bakersfield-Delano, California
• Pct. of homes underwater: 48.75%
• 12-month home price change: -9.58%
• Homes built 2000 or later: 21.1%
• Unemployment: 14.4% (tied for 11th highest)
9. Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida
• Pct. of homes underwater: 50.33%
• 12-month home price change: -4.59%
• Homes built 2000 or later: 25.2%
• Unemployment: 12.1% (30th highest)
8. Port St. Lucie, Florida
• Pct. of homes underwater: 50.89%
• 12-month home price change: -4.68%
• Homes built 2000 or later: 25.2%
• Unemployment: 12.8% (22nd highest)
7. Vallejo-Fairfield, California
• Pct. of homes underwater: 53.29%
• 12-month home price change: -10.5%
• Homes built 2000 or later: 14.1%
• Unemployment: 11.6% (40th highest)
6. Modesto, California
• Pct. of homes underwater: 53.30%
• 12-month home price change: -9.22%
• Homes built 2000 or later: 18.3%
• Unemployment: 16% (6th highest)
5. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida
• Pct. of homes underwater: 53.42%
• 12-month home price change: -3.14%
• Homes built 2000 or later: 27.7%
• Unemployment: 10.3% (83rd highest)
4. Reno-Sparks, Nevada
• Pct. of homes underwater: 53.74%
• 12-month home price change: -14.19%
• Homes built 2000 or later: 21.8%
• Unemployment: 13% (20th highest)
3. Stockton, California
• Pct. of homes underwater: 53.89%
• 12-month home price change: -6.46%
• Homes built 2000 or later: 19.9%
• Unemployment: 16.1% (5th highest)
2. Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona
• Pct. of homes underwater: 53.96%
• 12-month home price change: -9.81%
• Homes built 2000 or later: 28%
• Unemployment: 8.4% (202nd highest)
1. Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada
• Pct. of homes underwater: 63.96%
• 12-month home price change: -12.07%
• Homes built 2000 or later: 35%
• Unemployment: 14.2% (tied for 11th highest)
Sources: 24.7 Wall Street, CoreLogic, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S Census Bureau
