Dr. Robert Shiller of Case-Shiller Home Price Index fame said during the American Economic Association annual meeting;
Strategic default on mortgages will grow substantially over the next year, among prime borrowers, and become identified as a serious problem. The sense that “˜everyone is doing it’ is already growing, and will continue to grow, to the detriment of mortgage holders. It will grow because of a building backlash against the financial sector, growing populist rhetoric and a declining sense of community with the business world. Some people will take another look at their mortgage contract, and note that nowhere did they swear on the bible that they would repay.