Each month that goes by seems to bring a new low in the level of housing inventory for sale. Buildings have received an out-sized amount of blame but a new study points to another reason that recent home price gains have obscured.
According to new research from Zillow, the percentage of houses that are underwater or in negative equity is still high. In Chicago, they calculate that number is 17 percent of all houses, or more than a quarter of a million houses.
Those owners often cannot afford to take a loss on their homes and therefore cannot sell them and move, exacerbating the inventory situation.
Read more at Chicago Agent Magazine here.