That was why the bubble popped in the first place
home values continued to go to fuck ever since because of the viewpoint you are taking, in saying that since your house is worth less now then when you bought it, oh well not my problem i'll just walk away. If people would realize that the house they bought was worth to them what they paid for it, and be happy about that, then values would swing back up faster. Yes, if you are in a position to jump to a nicer house without doing anything to fuck up your credit or anyone else's home values then by all means, take advantage of it. I know that I'm stuck in my home, I make all my payments so I wouldn't be able to do a short sale. I'm not trying to bail on my home to jump into another one, but I would like to sell the place within the next ~3 years because I want to leave Ohio. But I have no clue how to do it, since I did a 0% down loan and still owe what I bought it for back in 2007.