The number of U.S. homeowners who owe more on their mortgages
than their homes are worth fell in the third quarter, but the
decline stemmed from banks getting more aggressive on
foreclosures, not from home values going up, according to trade-
industry data released Monday.  The total of so-called
underwater mortgages fell to 10.8 million at the end of
September, down from a peak of 11.3 million at the beginning of
the year, according to CoreLogic, a real-estate data firm. The
latest total accounts for nearly 22.5% of U.S. homeowners with a
mortgage.  The drop in underwater mortgages hardly reflects a
rebound in the housing sector because home prices didn't rise in
the third quarter. Rather, the number of underwater homes
declined as banks took back those homes and wiped out the debt
through foreclosure.  Home prices, meanwhile, appear to be
declining again after tax credits that spurred sales produced
modest price gains during the first half of the year.Home values
could drop by an estimated $1.7 trillion this