Good points, patientrenter. In sorting out the winners and the losers, timing is everything.
The winners include those who bought well before the 2005-6 peak and still are ahead…that is did not engage in equity extraction to go on a consumption binge. The really big winners would be those few who sold out at the peak and became renters! These lucky or smart few can now live off their cash-out proceeds.
The biggest losers would be those who faithfully saved up their money for a big down payment and then bought at the peak. Not only is there net worth depleted, they now face higher taxes in order to pay for their reckless neighbor’s mortgage.
