Apparently it may be in your best financial interest to default on your home loan if your home is underwater (worth less than you owe), but for emotional reasons (e.g., shame) many people will not consider it:
Contrary to reports that homeowners are increasingly “walking away” from their mortgages, most homeowners continue to make their payments even when they are significantly underwater. This article suggests that most homeowners do not strategically default as a result of two emotional forces: 1) the desire to avoid the shame and guilt of foreclosure; and 2) exaggerated anxiety over foreclosure’s perceived consequences. Moreover, these emotional constraints are actively cultivated by the government and other social control agents in order to induce homeowners to ignore market and legal norms under which strategic default might not only be a viable option, but also the wisest financial decision.
It’s an interesting issue, really. You choose to play by one set of moral rules, and your lender (and the industry) use an entirely different set.
Read the abstract of an academic paper examining the issue here.
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