A recent study by RealtyTrac finds that most foreclosures are not underwater.

Less than 50% of foreclosed properties are underwater, which is an interesting statistic in this real estate market with many short sales and homes’ values being less than the price people paid for them.

A major component that RealtyTrac found to be behind this percentage is job loss, creating the lack of income to be able to continue paying their mortgage. They estimate that for every 6-10 job losses there is one foreclosure. Another is the number of adjustable rate mortgages resetting between now & 2011. There are $2.5 trillion in loans that are ARM mortgages.

This helps to illustrate their point that in 2009 there were 2.8 million foreclosures, and but are predicting that number to be 3.8 million this year.

The Baltimore real estate market is definitely a part of this trend, with foreclosures and short sales on the rise. If you are in distress, please contact a real estate professional to avoid foreclosure. There are alternatives.