?The more prices drop, the more common the practice will become?.
Personally I believe this is what the feds really fear.
What will Irvine neighbor "A" do when he is upside down $200K and neighbor"B" is renting the same floor plan for $2-3k/month less than "A's" resetting mortgage? "A" will feel like a complete smuck every time he writes the mortgage check.
Doctor Housing Bubble indicates 850,000 home were sold in S. Ca (LA, Ven., SB, RV, OC, SD) from 2005-2007, with an additional 350,000 in 2004 and 360,000 in 2003. Even taking into account multiple sales on the same property and low ltv loans, it sems there could easily be over 1 million upside down loans in Southern CA by the end of 2008. which I am guessing represents 20-25% of the entire housing inventory in the Southland. (My guess is 4 - 4.5 million owned households).
A year from now, people could be bragging about how they mailed in the keys early in the cycle.