There are too few listed homes for sale. Prices are up, so why aren’t people selling? It is because prices are not up enough to bring many properties above the “under water” value. There is no equity there, so refinancing is not possible – unless the sellers pays down the balance to create a 90% or 80% LTV. Sellers don’t have the cash to do that. Sellers are stuck. Sellers hold their homes off the market. And there are too few listings.
Read all about it in the Seattle Times:
http://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/local-home-sales-slow-median-prices-edge-lower-in-september/
What should underwater people do?
Off topic: What does underwater James do? I bought a wet suit, mask, flippers, and booties. This weekend I swam in the Sauk River not far from Rockport. I was on the swim team in college. Now I can swim in cold Northwest waters.
Back to the under water mortgage topic:
If you really have to sell, do a short sale. I handle short sales both for buyers and sellers.
You might consider filing chapter 7, 11, or 13. You might do both a modification and a bankruptcy. I do not handle bankruptcies anymore, but I can advise you of your bankruptcy options and hook you up with a smart bankruptcy attorney. You have a Constitutional right to file for bankruptcy, so do not be too ashamed that you have gotten into debt and your house is underwater. You are not the one who trashed he economy and destroyed your former income stability.
Whether you are selling a property short or buying a short sale property, you should be represented by a lawyer. The agents and brokers disclose this to buyers and sellers.
Whether I am representing a buyer or a seller, my only legal fee is the reasonable real estate commission I receive at closing. I do not charge extra for legal counsel relating to your purchase or sale or short sale.
A short sale is sometimes necessary, but it is not your only option. A real estate agents has a professional duty to encourage potential short sale sellers to consider modification and/or bankruptcy before taking their short sale listing.
Every responsible manager of the family estate should consider mortgage modification and/or bankruptcy. Modification quite often turns out successful and enables families to retain their homes. Bankruptcy can be a powerful hammer. 
I do mortgage modifications. Fortunately, I have really good support staff. I construct the modifications, and my staff monitors them until they finalize. I do modifications in all 50 states. However, I do modifications outside of Washington only if my out-of-state client has local counsel.
You should keep your home if it is at all possible. You should keep all he property you ever buy. Put renters in them. Eventually you will have something of surviving value to put into your family trust and leave to your heirs.
Foreclosure – Next Exit
In Washington only lawyers and mortgage loan officers are considered licensed to do mortgage modifications. Out of state mod companies and in-state mod companies are all doing business illegally. And incompetently. Report violators to Attorney General.
Other news: I was interviewed on the John W. Bell radio show. We covered mandatory vaccination and over-vaccination, fluoridation, banning carcinogenic Roundup, a solution for traffic congestion, smart meters, and other topics. Click here for an outline of our conversation. The audio version will be posted here soon. 
James Robert Deal
888-999-2022, 425-771-1110
James at James Deal dot com