Bad News for American Home Owners

House prices in Canada have continued to rise, construction is still strong, and problems with mortgage payments are minimal. So it is odd to look south of the border and see the mess there. From Zillow:

- Negative equity reached a new high with 28.4 percent of all single-family homes with mortgages underwater, up from 27 percent in Q4 2010, due to accelerating home value declines.

- New data reveals bottom in home values unlikely to appear in 2011. Zillow has revised its forecast and now predicts a bottom in 2012 at the earliest.

What is especially astounding is that first Bush and now Obama have "solemnly pledged" to help American homeowners in this crisis. But as far as I can tell they have done nothing constructive. What they helped were the Wall Street banks and the big bonuses for fat cats on Wall Street.