With prices down by one-third from their 2006 peak, more than 11 million homeowners are underwater, or owe more than their homes are worth. That is about 24% of all homeowners with a mortgage. The situation is reviving calls for policy makers to embrace principal forgiveness. One problem is deciding who deserves help and who doesn’t, and who will absorb the losses: taxpayers or mortgage investors.
Wall Street Journal July 30, 2012
