People with negative equity - when did they buy and where?

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What's happened so far:

Future projections:

Source: http://www.zillowblog.com/look-around-one-...rwater/2008/08/

[peejay 327]

It's all in perception. If you can afford the payments and you don't need to move anytime soon, it is just numbers on a piece of paper. It's a house and you are living in it. What if you were paying rent? It's just another living expense.

Really...some people look at their home as if it is some sort of investment. It's not like buying shares in a stock. A stock is what you invest in...you live in your house.

It doesn't mean a thing unless someone buys a house for investment purposes and doesn't ever intend to live in the thing.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

It doesn't mean a thing unless someone buys a house for investment purposes and doesn't ever intend to live in the thing.

Not necessarily true.

If a homeowner loses their job, is unable to find work in a timely manner and must sell their home, negative equity is a problem.

If a homeowner, in expectation of future salary increases, took out a loan with an initial multi-year period of lower rates, followed by yearly increases, only to find out later than the expected salary increases did not materialize... will need to sell. Negative equity matters.

If a homeowner loses their medical insurance and falls ill... and needs to sell. Neg Equity matters.

You get the point.

Generally speaking, negative equity is a bit of a vicious cycle. Short sales are a drag on prices. Comps go down and even more people end up with negative equity.