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I’ve owned several houses. The more recently I bought, the LESS I care about the value of the house. It’s just numbers on paper. Money isn’t at stake until I’m

I’ve owned several houses. The more recently I bought, the LESS I care about the value of the house. It’s just numbers on paper. Money isn’t at stake until I’m trying to sell, which I’m certainly not looking to to do if I just recently bought.

shostack 10y ago
Depends on where you are in life financially, the market you're in, and whether this is your first purchase. If you bought recently, you probably had some sense that the market was a bit out of whack, but may have decided it was the right decision for other reasons. That doesn't make most people any less concerned about the future value of their house, particularly if they know they are not buying into their "Forever Home" and will one day need to sell and move elsewhere.
arebop 10y ago
It seems you are an unusual case [http://www.pewresearch.org/2009/02/19/oneinfive-homeowners-feels-underwater-on-mortgages/ http://www.pewresearch.org/2009/02/19/oneinfive-homeowners-f...].
- rconti 10y ago
  The bay area is also an unusual case. Somehow I don't think anyone's worried about CURRENTLY being underwater on their mortgage here, and I don't think anyone worries about housing growth happening so fast that it drives their values DOWN.
Johnny555 10y ago
I would expect it to be the other way around -- the more recently you bought (especially in the over-inflated Bay Area market), the more you need to worry about ending up underwater in your home value. If you bought 20 years ago, even if a fire burnt down your house, it's likely that the land alone would give you a healthy profit. If you bought 2 years ago, a significant downturn in the market could leave you underwater. Few people plan to sell their home shortly after buying it, but a market downturn could leave you without a job and you can't afford to move elsewhere for a job if you can't afford to take a loss by selling your house for less than your mortgage.

shostack 10y ago

Depends on where you are in life financially, the market you're in, and whether this is your first purchase. If you bought recently, you probably had some sense that the market was a bit out of whack, but may have decided it was the right decision for other reasons. That doesn't make most people any less concerned about the future value of their house, particularly if they know they are not buying into their "Forever Home" and will one day need to sell and move elsewhere.

arebop 10y ago

It seems you are an unusual case [http://www.pewresearch.org/2009/02/19/oneinfive-homeowners-feels-underwater-on-mortgages/ http://www.pewresearch.org/2009/02/19/oneinfive-homeowners-f...].

rconti 10y ago
The bay area is also an unusual case. Somehow I don't think anyone's worried about CURRENTLY being underwater on their mortgage here, and I don't think anyone worries about housing growth happening so fast that it drives their values DOWN.

Johnny555 10y ago

I would expect it to be the other way around -- the more recently you bought (especially in the over-inflated Bay Area market), the more you need to worry about ending up underwater in your home value. If you bought 20 years ago, even if a fire burnt down your house, it's likely that the land alone would give you a healthy profit. If you bought 2 years ago, a significant downturn in the market could leave you underwater. Few people plan to sell their home shortly after buying it, but a market downturn could leave you without a job and you can't afford to move elsewhere for a job if you can't afford to take a loss by selling your house for less than your mortgage.