There are some things that we don’t have control over. And when we find ourselves in such situations, there’s really nothing much we can do but to try to adjust to the situation, as with the mortgage crisis. You don’t have to sulk or be bitter if you’re one of those hit by the mortgage dilemma, because there are others who share the same plight.

A website that computes home values called Zillow.com reported that a third of Americans who bought a house in the last five years owe more than what their house is worth. Significant drops in home prices contributed to homeowners losing value for their homes, which makes them wary of selling their properties because they surely won’t get any profit. As a matter of fact, almost 75 percent of the homes sold last year were at a loss. The site also stated that there is a 9.9 percent decline in home values, making today’s median home price ($206,919) the lowest since 2004’s fourth quarter.

One way of easing the impact of the current situation is to try and sell properties, in spite of having to absorb the losses. Selling could possibly have some positive effects because unsold homes add up to the inventory in communities and could force prices further downward. This could also help cut down the foreclosure rate.

Spencer Rascoff, chief financial officer for Zillow, saw a ‘sign of optimism’ in homeowners who are accepting the situation.

“Sellers are starting to adjust their expectations, more sellers accepting a loss is actually a sign of optimism. It means that the transactions might start happening. There are so many sales contingent upon the buyer selling their home.” he says.

Other data included in the study showed that 45 percent of the homes bought during the peak of the housing market in 2006 are now ‘underwater’, meaning homeowners owe more than what their house is worth.

Zillow.com allows for computation of home values in the neighborhood. It taps public data for information on 165 markets, and its results stand for 77 percent of homes.