Posted To: Pipeline PressCapital markets folks know that there are billions of dollars of outstanding 5, 6, 7, and even 8% securities filled with high interest-rate loans. LOs know that they aren’t paying off/refinancing. One possible reason? Despite the headlines talking about housing appreciation outpacing wages, about 10% of all U.S. homes with a mortgage are “seriously underwater.” These are homes where the balance on the loans are 25 percent higher than the actual market value of the home. There are 5.5 million seriously underwater properties in the U.S. , but some areas are harder hit than others. In Louisiana, 21.7 percent of homes are seriously underwater, 18.5 percent in Illinois and 17.8 percent in Missouri. Some zip codes are particularly dire: 65809, in Springfield, Missouri has 81 percent…(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.