>> Otherwise it's some opportunity cost (arguably) but you can continue paying your mortgage payments to stay in your house, and if you hold long enough it'll l

>> Otherwise it's some opportunity cost (arguably) but you can continue paying your mortgage payments to stay in your house, and if you hold long enough it'll likely recover. Most people cannot do this though, because the conditions that lead to housing market crashes also result in huge numbers of layoffs. What that means is that not only do people find themselves "underwater" but also unemployed, which means they either can no longer afford their mortgage payments, or sell at a (often huge) loss and start renting and/or relocate.