30% of Homeowners Say They Owe More Than Their House Is Worth

Thirty percent (30%) of homeowners say the value of their home is less than what they still own on their mortgage. That's the lowest level measured since August but consistent with findings since April 2009.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 56% of Adults who own a home say their house is worth more than what they owe.  Fourteen percent (14%) are not sure.  (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Still, over the last six months, an overwhelming majority (87%) of homeowners say they have not missed or been late on a mortgage payment.  Only nine percent (9%) say the opposite is true, down five points from June.

Homeowners continue to have little short-term confidence in the U.S. housing market but are much more confident about the picture five years down the road. The findings on both questions remain in the ballpark of where they’ve been for well over a year.

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The survey of 720 Adult Homeowners was conducted on November 16-17, 2010 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.

How many homeowners say it’s likely they’ll miss a mortgage payment?  Should the government help those who can’t afford payments?  Become a Platinum Member to find out.