The real money in this boom was made by the loan officers and thats where you should look for collateral damage. The just arent that many realtors making $75,000 or more. The construction industry is dominated by unskilled and semi-skilled laborers many of which are not legal immigrants counted in those figures.
In the RE community there is a big thought that you need to create the perception of flash and success. The truth is most of those cars are leased and the clothes are from Marshalls.