A new Harris Poll released yesterday found that the percentage of homeowners having difficulty paying off their mortgages has fallen from 29 to 22 percent over the past year, a 24 percent decline.

Of the 22 percent having difficulty meeting their mortgage payments, 7 percent said they are having a great deal of difficulty and 21 percent said they think their homes are worth less than the amounts that they owe.

In a similar Harris Poll a year ago, 29 percent of homeowners with mortgages were having difficulty paying their mortgages, and 11 percent were having a great deal of difficulty. Some 24 percent of those with mortgages thought they were under water.

Those who believe their homes are worth less than the money they owe on their mortgages (22 percent) include 8 percent who say their homes are worth “a lot less”. A year ago, of the 24 percent who said they were underwater, and 11 percent said their homes were worth a lot less.

Most adults (62 percent), whether or not they are homeowners with mortgages, are at least somewhat concerned that their family’s income will not be enough to cover all their costs and expenses this year. This number is also very slightly lower than it was last year (65 percent). The higher the family income the lower the level of concern and among the lowest income group, with household incomes of less than $35,000, fully 75 percent are concerned and 36 percent are very concerned they will not be able to meet all costs and expenses.

“These findings are consistent with other Harris Poll data on the economy that show a very modest, but, still painfully slow, recovery from the recession. Many millions of people are still hurting badly even if the numbers are slightly better than they were last year. It seems that we will continue to have a huge mortgage and foreclosure crisis until the economy is much stronger or house prices recover,” said the polling company in a news release.