I suppose it all comes down to how much money means to you. All the money I have is hard won through years of education, training and saving. As a consequence it disturbs me greatly to see it devalued. I also come from a poor backround, so my perception of value is colored by that. For example, there is no restaurant I can’t afford to eat in, but the sight of a $30 entree on a menu will always make me jump a little bit. I’ll never really lose that no matter how wealthy I become. Similarly, I CAN certainly afford to take a $100,000 loss on a depreciating home in this market, I just don’t WANT to. Why not rent the $900,000 home instead? I guess if someone dropped the $100,000 into my lap I wouldn’t care as much about losing it, but since I worked for it it is quite a bit more dear to me. And you absolutely can live the life you desire without homeownership being a necessary part of it. I wonder if that sentiment will become more commonplace in the future.
