Homeowners saw a whopping $3.3tn in residential values eroded last year — with $1.4tn vanishing in the fourth quarter alone — showing the market’s downward spiral gained speed as more homeowners find themselves underwater, in foreclosure, resorting to short sales or just out of hope, according to according to real estate Web site Zillow.com’s latest market report.

Since the market’s 2006 peak, eight consecutive quarters of value drops have erased more than $6 trillion in value nationwide –- at least on paper –- even delivering pain to previously stable markets including Manhattan and Seattle.

Wall Street Journal