More homeowners than ever may be walking away from their mortgages and leaving their imprint on what promises to be an already significantly different housing and mortgage market going forward.

Economists and executives point out that data on the trend is almost impossible to collect. Who can tell when homeowners default on mortgages because they have to or when they have chosen to default for economic reasons? But there are anecdotal indications from around the country that the numbers of homeowners taking this option may be picking up.

In September 2009, a number of media outlets reported a study conducted by the Oliver Wyman consulting firm and the Experian credit reporting firm on the phenomenon of people defaulting on mortgages while they held jobs. The study concluded that the stigma against walking away from a mortgage obligation appears to be subsiding, among other findings (see sidebar).