In many cases, people would not be able to afford this. Suppose I have $200k of equity in a $1M house. It depreciates to $700k. I now owe the bank $100k simply

In many cases, people would not be able to afford this. Suppose I have $200k of equity in a $1M house. It depreciates to $700k. I now owe the bank $100k simply to be able to sell the house. Furthermore, if home prices depreciate that much, it’s likely rents would too, so it would be impossible for rental income to cover my mortgage payment, not to mention upkeep.