“…how do you explain in the last housing downturn of the nineties, when areas like Balboa Island, and Aspen, Colorado were hit hard, some properties were selling for fifty percent off? You would think that people in those areas don’t need to sell, as many paid cash for their multi-million dollar mansions.”
People have a tendency to live right up to the edge of (or slighty over) their income and asset levels. This is as true for rich people as it is for the poor or middle class. When they then hit some type of financial bump in the road and need some liquidity, the vacation home in Aspen or Balboa Island is what goes on the chopping block.
