Granite Counter Tops, Sub Zero Fridge, '83 Datsun

The theme of a shrinking middle class seems to be popular with the press this weekend. Before people start selling their houses because they owe too much debt, maybe we'll notice people selling off their $35,000 SUVs and buying older model fuel effcient cars, like the Datsun 210 from 80s.

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"A new class seems to be developing. I call it the “House Poor”. In this over-heated real estate market where homes are selling above list prices and speculative buyers are quickly flipping properties at a record pace, the House Poor are keeping up with the rising cost of living by paying the bills through home equity extraction, home-equity loans and cash-out refinancing. While many homeowners believe they can live like the upper class and appear to be wealthy, they’ll be the first to end up in the poor house. Those easy money real estate speculators who purchased several investor properties are now beginning to see that renters are more difficult to find these days but the bills to maintain their properties keep coming in."

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