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Continued: Millions owe more on their homes than homes are worth

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“I feel very fortunate to be out of that place and moving forward, unlike a lot of people in this kind of situation,” Goldner said. “That’s one big debt off my shoulders.”

Real estate agents say short sales, once unthinkable, have soared.

Goldner’s situation — in which his health cost him his livelihood and in turn led to insurmountable debt — is an extreme case. But the upside-down effect will change the financial equation for millions of people who do not face an immediate crisis.

Matt Bender and Susan Flynn of Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood are among those who, all of a sudden, are staring down a financial hit.

The couple are expecting a baby in January, but Bender’s nicely rehabbed third-floor condo is too small and the stairs are too numerous to regularly cart a newborn — and the equipment he or she will require — up and down.

They need a house, desperately, but to get one they must first sell the condo. It has been on the market for a while at $6,000 less than what Bender paid for it three years ago. They’ve had nary a nibble.

They are now forced to hold their breath and go underwater. If and when they sell the place, Bender will have to tap into his savings to pay off the rest of his mortgage.

“You’ve got to feel lucky to have a place to live and a job, I suppose,” said Bender, a grade-school teacher. “But this is pretty humbling. And we’re kind of stuck.”

To avoid a loss, Bender and Flynn may end up having to wait and buy a home together after their baby is born rather than before.

“We just never thought we’d be faced with this,” Flynn said. “Real estate was supposed to be the one investment you could really count on.”

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