A Housing Update In Chicago

NYT, via Mark Thoma:

THIS Labor Day should be an uncomfortable day for our political leaders, and for comfortable readers of this newspaper, too. Working people are enduring hard times, maybe the hardest in decades. Meanwhile, our national political debate seems utterly out of touch with the economic pain now being endured by millions of precariously employed, under-employed and jobless people across America.
Consider where I live and work: greater Chicago. Forty-five percent of mortgaged single-family homes are underwater, meaning people owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. Foreclosure epicenters like the Austin and West Englewood communities are checkerboarded with abandoned and decaying properties, many stripped bare by vandals for scrap. Joblessness among African-Americans exceeds 20 percent — almost 50 percent among black youths.
Numbers don’t fully capture the impact of the downturn. Some of the toughest challenges arise in small suburban localities like Hazel Crest, a short bicycle ride from my house. A destination for Chicagoans hoping to move up the economic ladder, the village of Hazel Crest has been hard hit by unemployment, white flight and the housing crisis.

45% of mortgages underwater?  Wow, that's ugly.  It is also one explanation for why fewer people are moving to other areas for jobs.  It is an interesting article.  It leaves me curious about how many homes in my vicinity are underwater.  Since we didn't have large increases in value like in booming areas, I would anticipate it isn't nearly that high.