Lower Home Values Could Mean Less Debt Repayment

For the many Americans suffering from underwater mortgages or foreclosure, selling a home is a very real solution to their debt problems.

However, these Americans received some bad news today as a new report is estimating U.S. homes will lose over $1.7 trillion in value in 2010.

The largest amount of the value lost this year was garnered from July to December, a period that saw sharp increases in foreclosures and $1 trillion in lost home values for Americans. By comparison, from January to June homes only lost $680 billion.

This represents a 63 percent increase from 2009's figures, according to Zillow Real Estate Market Reports. Since June 2006, U.S. homes have lost more than $9 trillion dollars in value.

"Unfortunately, with foreclosures near an all-time high in late 2010 and high rates of negative equity persisting, it does not appear that the first part of 2011 will bring much relief," said Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries.

For many Americans, this translates to substantial losses if they decide to sell their current residences.