This cannot be understated. You can conceivably get a house with 5% down. There is no other instrument that allows a retail investor to get 20X leverage - esp

This cannot be understated. You can conceivably get a house with 5% down. There is no other instrument that allows a retail investor to get 20X leverage - especially at that price. Even leveraged ETFs are basically capped at 3X because anything else is too volatile and was deemed a market hazard. Now imagine a 20X ETF that invests in a single property, with high maintenance costs, extremely low liquidity, zero diversification, and high transaction costs. That is basically what some of these mortgages are. It is absolutely intoxicating when the asset price goes up and I am not surprised in the least that people love it as an investment. Even if it explodes, you walk away and your losses are minimal. You only risked 5% of the price and sure you made some payments along the way, but the risk asymmetry completely rewards being as reckless as possible.