WASHINGTON — One in seven mortgage holders worries that they may soon fail to make their monthly payments, and even more fret that their home’s value is shrinking, according to a poll showing widespread stress from the nation’s housing crisis.
In an ominous snapshot of how the sagging real-estate market and sour economy are intersecting, the Associated Press-AOL Money & Finance poll also found that 60 percent said they definitely won’t a buy a home in the next two years.
That was up from 53 percent who said so in an AP-AOL poll in September 2006. Only 11 percent are certain or very likely to buy soon, down from 15 percent in 2006.
In today’s economic climate, holding on to what they already have is a challenge and source of distress for significant numbers of homeowners. Nearly three in 10 said they are concerned that their home’s value will decline over the next two years, while 14 percent of mortgage holders expressed worry that they might miss payments in the next six months.
One such nervous homeowner is Daniel Gallego, a warehouse worker in Stockton, Calif., who said in a follow-up interview that he may have to sell his house at a big loss.
“We may have to move in with my wife’s parents or my parents,” said Gallego, 30, who has two young children. “I could pay off some debt, then we could rent and maybe buy another house in a few years.”
One in 10 has an adjustable- rate mortgage, half the number who said so two years ago. These mortgages generally start at a low interest rate and are later adjusted to market conditions — which has often meant steep, unaffordable boosts that have forced many to refinance or even lose their homes.
The number envisioning falling prices in their area has grown to one in four, while four in 10 think prices will rise, a decrease from two years ago. Expectations for rising prices are highest in the South, with Westerners likeliest to predict they will drop.
“This is a great time to buy but not necessarily to sell,” said Robert Jackson, who lives in a two-bedroom house in Ferguson, Mo., with his wife and four young children.
He said he would love to purchase a larger home but can’t because even if he found a buyer, he would probably lose thousands on his house, which he bought less than two years ago.
“We’re just going to have to slap a Band-Aid on it and stay here until the market gets a little bit better,” said Jackson, 30.
The number saying local housing prices are about right has fallen to 35 percent.
