The number of homeowners who say their homes are worth more than what they still owe on their mortgage has fallen to its lowest level in nearly two years.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of homeowners shows that 35% of homeowners now say they owe more to the bank that their home is currently worth. Fifty-one percent (51%) say their home is still worth more than the amount left on their mortgage. Another 14% aren't sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
But the number who say their home is worth more than their mortgage is down six points from January and is the lowest result measured since May 2009 when just 49% reported their home was worth more.
While more than 70% of homeowners who make $75,000 or more annually say their home is worth more than the amount they owe on their mortgage, fewer than half of those who earn less report the same.
The number of homeowners who say their home is worth more now than when they bought it has plummeted in the past two-and-a-half years.
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The survey of 730 Homeowners was conducted on February 5-6, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Slightly more homeowners (12%) say it’s likely they’ll either miss or be late on a mortgage payment in the next six months, up from nine percent (9%) last month but similar to results found last year. The overall finding includes just three percent (3%) who say they are Very Likely to miss a payment. Eighty-five percent (85%) say it’s unlikely they will miss or be late on a payment, including 47% who say this scenario is Not At All Likely.
Seven percent (7%) say they’ve missed or been late on a mortgage payment in the past six months. However, the overwhelming majority (92%) say that’s not the case. These results are little changed from past surveys.
Twenty-six percent (26%) of all American Adults now believe the government should step in to assist those who are having trouble making their mortgage payments, up six points from last month. Sixty percent (60%) say troubled homeowners should sell their homes and find less expensive ones, a view shared by most Americans since 2007 when the housing bubble first began to burst. Thirteen percent (13%) are not sure which option is best.
Separate polling finds that only 26% of all Americans think the government should be primarily concerned with making it possible for more people to own a home as opposed to making sure that the only people who can get mortgages are those who can afford them. Sixty-three percent (63%) disagree and say the government's primary concern should be limiting mortgages to those who can pay them back.
Congressional Republicans are likely to take a closer look at government-backed mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as they continue to consume billions of taxpayer dollars to cover bad loans. While many Americans have benefited from Fannie and Freddie loans, a majority don't hold high opinions of either one.
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