With talk bubbling up lately about whether people who are underwater should just treat their home as a bad investment and simply walk away, we decided to take a look at Case-Shiller values over the last 20 years or so. Some markets appear to have climbed back toward their previous peak values – enough that your home might still be a good long-term investment. Other markets look like they have a long way to go, especially if you bought close to the peak.

In researching the topic, I found that a lot of commentary was ignoring the fact that you might live in a recourse state, where the lender can claim more than just your house if you walk. So the map also shows which states allow recourse, and which don’t.

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