After showing signs of recovery, the real estate market appears to be stalling again. Prices have plunged so far in the last three years that by June 5. 1 million Americans will have homes worth less than 75 percent of what they owe on the mortgage. Given the math, as many as 1 million people last year made strategic decisions simply to stop making mortgage payments and walk away. Is that immoral? (Watch a discussion of the morality of ditching mortgages)
Yes, it's wrong: "From an ethical standpoint, this is really rotten," says Rick Moran in The Moderate Voice. "By walking away, these homeowners are making it more difficult for the rest of us to get a home loan or refinance our existing home." That's "selfish."
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