But once a real estate market shifts from a state of equilibrium to one of boom, everyone becomes a speculator willy-nilly. As capital appreciation came to be expected, the meaning of home ownership changed. Home owners, whether they liked it or not, were taking a speculative position. At the bottom, those who got on the housing ladder by taking out adjustable-rate, low-credit-score mortgages were speculating that their properties would rise in value so much that their equity would be sufficient to refinance on better terms. Those further up the ladder engaged in a fiesta of real estate
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