A Christian Liberal is NOT an oxymoron.

Posted by XT on October 31st, 2008 in US News

One of the lasting effects of the housing bubble is that millions owe more than their house is worth. So if they sell their house, they still have a mortgage to pay off. With no money in their pocket.

At least they don’t have to worry about capital gains taxes, right?

It’s called “negative equity”, and Nevada leads the country – but other states are close on its heels:

Other bubble states with high levels of negative equity include Arizona (29.2%), Florida (29.2%) and California (27.4%).

The second group of states that have a lot of underwater borrowers are in the rust belt region, including Michigan, where 39% of homeowners have negative equity, and Ohio, where that rate stands at 22%.

That second group is a toughie – their problem is broad-based economic deficiencies. Their house value just isn’t going to come back because there are no jobs – therefore, people don’t want to live there.