These overextended couples are reportedly experiencing stress near a bubble peak. Imagine how much more stressed they will feel when prices drop the relatively small amounts necessary to wipe out all of the equity that they have in their homes. -vreaa
Anonymous at vancouvercondo.info 10 Mar 2010 2:27 pm -
“All the couples I know who bought in the past 4 years overextended themselves (I mean mortgage > 3 x family income), and they are going through very hard times. The stress burden on a family is huge, especially if you have small kids that make you life crazy enough by waking up the middle of the night (this is almost the perfect recipe for a divorce). My friends also had to deal with post-buying depression: after a month, they open their eyes on the drawbacks of bying, the bills were pilling up, their home was smaller than what they used to rent, they started to realized the kids would soon outgrow their bedroom and their was no way they could afford a larger home. Then came the time when we were going for holidays, restaurants, or paying ski lessons to our kids, while “buyers” had to stay home and eat cheap. When I see a couple making $200,000 telling me they cannot afford the average sushi place, I find it bizarre… Another thing I noticed is the amount of time my friends spend looking at interest rates, inflation, bubble talk, etc… If they read prices might fall by 20%, they lose sleep (20% x 800 000 = $160 000, not something you save in one month… or even a year). I was obsessed with having a house of my own, so I bought a nice recreational property for cheap in a remote area.”
