Without exception, the (male) house fools that I personally know were driven by their wives/gfs to nest in an overpriced house during the boom. I don’t dispute that the men were 50/50 complicit in the decision, but fundamentally the rush to get one before they are all gone was driven by the women (again this is just my personal experience). I am grateful that my stubborness and my wife’s house apathy allowed us to wait, as I probably would have given in just like everyone else.

So the line that stood out for me is this: “Patty discovered a small but stately brick home in a leafy, kid-filled neighborhood in Silver Spring, Md. We sent in an offer of $460,000 and one day later got our answer: the sellers accepted. ”