[Siddarth1977]

Most people are putting down 20%. Even if you have a non-recourse loan that's a huge loss. Plus the hit to credit record means you probably won't be able to take out a new mortgage for years.

It'd only be a tiny percent of people who found themselves underwater, but with so little equity they didn't care to lose it, and who also didn't care about tanking their credit score for the next decade.