[Jim Noble]

What do you mean by “their likely intrinsic value”?

There are tens or perhaps hundreds of thousands of housing units that will never be sold. Their actual value is zero.

There are millions of units whose nominal value is 20-30% higher than their actual value.

Until the market liquidates these units, and perhaps until units with no value are physically destroyed, this will not improve.

[Rutles4Ever]

and perhaps until units with no value are physically destroyed, this will not improve.

This ^^^^

[Rutles4Ever]

There are tens or perhaps hundreds of thousands of housing units that will never be sold. Their actual value is zero.

Hence the likelihood that they become rental subdivisions owned by corporations and wealthy speculators.

On the other hand, with regard to the notion of destroying empty stock, it might be necessary anyway, if we consider the buildup of something as insidious as mold in a house that remains unoccupied and unventilated for years.

[RockinRight]

There are tens or perhaps hundreds of thousands of housing units that will never be sold. Their actual value is zero.

Like most of Detroit.

I mean that the number of people normally able to buy, but can't because they're SO far upside down, are taken out of the market, meaning even fewer buyers than would exist in a normal 20% down market (had things never gotten out of hand to start with) would reduce demand, and housing prices, even below a normal, stable level, to well below "100" on that chart that gets posted around here every once in a while that shows home prices adjusted for inflation over the last century.