[quote=sdrealtor]No its not safe to say everyone is 15 to 20% off because not all are. No we cant expect them all to walk either. If you put money down you may not be underwater and even if you are 10% to 20% underwater (loan to value) you want to try to get your money back. Thats the way most i have run into think.[/quote]

I agree. But, if the market stalls, and maybe back tracks down a bit, many of these people who were hoping for a quick(ish) turn around may get despondent about the time frame, and join the ranks of those that walked. Its a psychological thing for most people. Many will see a five or even ten year time frame for a turn around as reasonable, and try to hold on. But if people begin to feel that the time horizon might be longer than that, many more will begin to walk. Throw in other factors (location changes, job changes, job loss, divorce), and the number that walk likely remains high for some time.