Did you know that 22 percent of today’s homeowners are having trouble making their mortgage payments every month? A recent Harris Poll showed that nearly one in every four homeowners are worried that they may not have enough money coming in each month to write that check and send it off to their mortgage lender.
21 percent of the homeowners surveyed in the Harris Poll said that their home was “underwater.” That means that their homes are worth less than what they owe on it.
As alarming as these number may sound, they are lower than statistics from earlier polls. At this time last year, 29 percent (almost 1 in every 3 homeowners) reported that they were having trouble making their mortgage payments each month. About 24 percent of those surveyed last year said that they owed more on their home than what their home was worth.
The survey, which was conducted in March, found some other things that you may find surprising. For instance, about 62 percent of those surveyed – homeowners and non-homeowners – said that they are worried about having enough money each month this year to pay their regular monthly expenses. However, during the same time last year, 65 percent of those surveyed had the same response. That’s a three percent drop which could mean that consumers are having a little more confidence in the market. But three percent may not be significant enough on which to base that conclusion.
The poll was conducted online and included more than 3,170 adults. It was conducted during the second week of March. Here are some other pieces of information that came from that poll:
- Last year, 69 percent of those surveyed had a mortgage on their home. This year, that number dropped three percent to 66 percent. It is unknown if the number dropped due to foreclosures, people paying off their mortgage or other factors.
- About 7 percent of those surveyed reported having extreme difficulty making their mortgage payments. That’s about 11 million homeowners.
- Of those who said their homes were underwater, about 8 percent of them said that their homes were worth “a lot less” than the money they owed on their mortgage loan. Even so, that number is lower than it was last year.
Even though the numbers seem to be getting better, there are still millions of people in the country who are hurting financially. There is still a lot of work that is needed to be done before showing a promising recovery, but this year’s numbers show a slow and possibly steady recovery for the economy. Hopefully this continues in the years to come.
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