I still have no sympathy for those folks that got dollar signs in their eyes and figured they could buy a house and then flip it in a year.

Whatever happened to the ethic of paying for something you intend to use?

Cars depreciate so fast they're almost as bad as computers for resale value, yet you don't see people walking away from auto loans just because the car's worth less a year later than when they bought their cars.

But heaven forbid a house fall in value! Heaven forbid that you buy something, have to borrow money to purchase the asset, and then stick to repaying the loan!

Land price increases are not a God-given gift to homeowners. If they have negative equity - too bad! They didn't purchase a boat cruise or some intangible service they can get a refund on. They purchased a roof over their heads - something physical and usable! Just like a car. Physical and usable.

I agree that the very idea of a housing market is ridiculous given that land is no longer essentially infinite in today's world, but in the context of a housing market and the need to purchase housing, I find it utterly ridiculous that people think it is moral and ethical to simply quit paying for the place one has chosen to live in just because the dollar signs in one's eyes blinded one to the facts about paying for something one intends to use.