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Here is what's useful information in the report and why, at the same time, reflect why the attempt to engender "national" economic psychology about the report are wrong and misguided:

. "Today Zillow.com reported a new high in negative equity: 28.4 percent of single family homes with a mortgage (remember, 32 percent of all homeowners do not have a mortgage).

So, right away we can see that we are talking about 19% of all homeowners (28.4% of 68% [those who have mortgages]; a figure that's about 32% less tragic than it seems.

"That's a national average, but the numbers are far worse in some of the nation's big metros. Atlanta, for example, has a 55.7 percent negative equity rate. Denver, 41 percent, Chicago nearly 46 percent. This is on top of all the foreclosure hot spots like Phoenix, where close to three quarters of all borrowers are underwater.

The "national average" hides the fact, the details, that the bulk of the "scary" national average is built on big "negative equity rates" (way bigger than the national "average") in what is less than half the metropolitan areas of the country. Yes, we have a problem, but when you dig into the details of the national stats you find the problem has a live experience in reality that is not "national" but resides in very specific housing markets in the country - not "the nation" as in "all over the nation" and "every place in the nation".

Instead of talking about the national stats, peoples focus should be 100% on the specific locales where the extremes of the problem exit.