NEW YORK - December 7, 2010 - Some 58% of Amerikans expect the U.S. housing market to stay depressed for two or more years, a survey has found.

In the survey, 48% of respondents said they would consider walking away from their mortgage if they were in negative equity - up from 41% since May.

The findings by property web sites Trulia and RealtyTrac come as house prices have agasin begun falling.

They suggest the market may face a new wave of mortgage defaults as Amerikans lose respect for scandal-hit banks.

The attorneys general of all 50 U.S. states are carrying out a joint investigation into foreclosures - the repossession of U.S. homes by mortgage lenders - after it emerged that unqualified "robo-signers" had been used to produce fraudulent documentation to present to U.S. courts.

"As a result of the recent robo-signing debacle, half of U.S. adults expressed that they now have less faith in mortgage lenders, banks and the government," the two companies said in a statement presenting their report