People are all ecstatic when they sell their homes for a huge profit, these days, but are faced with the harsh reality: where the hell are they going to move with housing being so expensive, these days?

By  Motoko Rich, New York Times

It may seem absurd that David and Christine Boals, a Manhattan couple with two young children, wound up in a $4,400-a-month rental in Chelsea.

With more than $100,000 in profit from the sale of a one-bedroom apartment last year, and Ms. Boals’s income as the owner of a photo agency, it never occurred to them that they wouldn’t be able to trade up to a bigger place for their family. But like a growing number of equity-rich homeowners, they discovered that their money did not go nearly as far as they had hoped.

In the hottest markets, owners whose homes have skyrocketed in value find themselves in a frustrating paradox. They were supposed to be the lucky ones: they bought in frenzied real estate markets like New York and Los Angeles three or more years ago and have amassed hundreds of thousands of dollars on paper.

But as they try to roll that considerable equity into a bigger home, many are unpleasantly surprised to find that the cost of real estate at the higher end has outpaced their ability to buy. For homeowners who have watched the torrid housing market create wealth as if by magic, scanning the classified ads or visiting a few open houses serves as a harsh reality check.

Complete article: Trapped in the Bubble

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