Las Vegas, Nev., is the most affordable city in the United States for domestic travelers, coming in at about $263 per night, according to the new TripAdvisor TripIndex 2012 listing.stock.xchng
Las Vegas, Nev., is the most affordable city in the United States for domestic travelers, coming in at about $263 per night, according to the new TripAdvisor TripIndex 2012 listing.stock.xchngPct. homes w/underwater mortgages: 61.7% Number of mortgages underwater: 46,115 Median home value: $150,600 Decline from prerecession peak: 58.3% Unemployment rate: 13.1% Pictured: Reno city's famous arch over Virginia StreetWikimedia CommonsPct. homes w/underwater mortgages: 60.5% Number of mortgages underwater: 70,947 Median home value: $116,700 Decline from prerecession peak: 57.0% Unemployment rate: 14.9% (5th highest) Pictured: The First Baptist Church building, which survived the 1952 earthquake, is now a commercial use building.Wikimedia CommonsPct. homes w/underwater mortgages: 60.3% Number of mortgages underwater: 46,598 Median home value: $130,600 Decline from prerecession peak: 64.5% Unemployment rate: 16.8% (tied for highest) Pictured: Gallo Center for the Arts, ModestoWikimedia CommonsPct. homes w/underwater mortgages: 60.3% Number of mortgages underwater: 60,349 Median home value: $146,500 Decline from prerecession peak: 64.3% Unemployment rate: 16.8% (tied for highest) Pictured: The head of the Stockton Deep Water Channel from Center StreetWikimedia CommonsPct. homes w/underwater mortgages: 60.3% Number of mortgages underwater: 44,526 Median home value: $186,200 Decline from prerecession peak: 60.6% Unemployment rate: 11.4% (16th highest) Pictured: Former Vallejo City Hall and County BuildingWikimedia CommonsPct. homes w/underwater mortgages: 57.7% Number of mortgages underwater: 33,220 Median home value: $110,500 Decline from prerecession peak: 51.7% Unemployment rate: 16.6% (3rd highest) Pictured: Visalia Transit CenterWikimedia CommonsPct. homes w/underwater mortgages: 55.5% Number of mortgages underwater: 430,527 Median home value: $128,000 Decline from prerecession peak: 54.2% Unemployment rate: 8.6% (44th lowest) Pictured: Central Phoenix with the landmark "Punchcard" building on the right.stock.xchngPct. homes w/underwater mortgages: 55.5% Number of mortgages underwater: 581,831 Median home value: $107,500 Decline from prerecession peak: 38.8% Unemployment rate: 9.6% (37th highest) Pictured: A house in Atlanta, Georgiastock.xchngPct. homes w/underwater mortgages: 53.9% Number of mortgages underwater: 205,369 Median home value: 113,800 Decline from prerecession peak: -55.9% Unemployment rate: 10.4% (25th highest) Pictured: Disney World, Orlandostock.xchng
The persistent downturn in the US has taken a toll on mortgage debt in some of the major cities with homes continuing to be underwater about six years after home prices peaked, a recent report reveals.
The first-quarter 2012 negative equity report released online on Thursday by real estate Web site Zillow suggests that most Americans' debt on their homes or property is more than the current market value - what is called an underwater mortgage. According to the report, over 15 million homes across the United States have underwater mortgages.
"The markets with the highest rates of underwater borrowers are in trouble now because of the rampant growth seen in these cities prior to the recession. Once home prices peaked, which was primarily in late 2005 through 2006, all but one of these 10 housing markets lost at least 50% of their median home value," Svenja Gudell, senior economist at Zillow told financial news provider 24/7 Wall St. in an interview.
The situation is worse in some of the largest metropolitan regions in the US, particularly in California and Florida.
"In California, Florida and the southwest, home values were cut in half, unemployment skyrocketed, and 50% to 70% of borrowers now find themselves with a home worth less than the value of their mortgage," 24/7 Wall St. said in its analysis based on Zillow's report.
The journal, which reviewed the report and some of the largest housing markets in the US, released a list of ten cities with the highest percentage of homes with underwater mortgages on Friday. The ten cities were identified on the basis of Zillow's data on "decline in home values in these markets from prerecession peak values, the total negative equity value in these markets and the percentage of homes underwater that have been delinquent on payments for 90 days or more," 24/7 Wall St. said in a news feed.
Check out the slideshow to know which the ten US cities with most underwater mortgages are...
