That's absolutely by design. Homeownership is a concept that's been pushed on Americans since WWII... and it makes sense when you consider that housing is the only appreciating asset most people will ever own. However, as the only appreciating asset most people will ever own, there's a lot of pressure from the lampreys to get you into a 2nd mortgage, a HELOC, a payment greater than you can afford, etc.

Combine that with derivatives - whereby investors aren't trading your mortgaged assets, they're trading on your ability to retain your mortgaged assets - and all of a sudden, people with lots of money are getting still more of it by putting your assets in jeopardy.

My wife has owned our house since 2000. We're in a good place. And for the past seven years, we've rented it out. It's been a net win... but that's only because she purchased back when prices were more in line with fundamentals. In other words, we could rent it for right about what the mortgage was. We've been profiting only for the past couple years.

Wanna see a scary graph?

I mean, the San Fran thing is batshit but even the national curve is crazy.

http://wolfstreet.com/2015/06/21/housing-bubble-2-san-francisco-vs-america/