Sorry folks, but the party is well and truly coming to an end. Sub-Prime in the US is just the tip of iceberg that the world economy is in the process of colliding with.
I believe we are heading not for just a recession, but the second Global Depression which will be longer and harder than the first one. Changing Boomer demographics will soon exhaust the supply of investment funds (this prediction from 4 years ago is unfolding now
http://www.thegreatbustahead.com/pi_article_feb2004.pdf). Peak-Oil will exhaust the supply of cheap easy energy and the $100 barrel we are seeing is nothing compared to what's coming. Not forgetting the almost 7 billion people infesting the planet, many of whom a striving for 'middle-class' aspirations and will soon exhaust the tiny remaining margins of food, water and everything else.
But it's not all bad news. Well, no, actually it's not all bad news for me. I really would like to thank everyone here for making this wonderful housing bubble happen, I really really do! But I always knew it would end and am really surprised it has lasted as long as it has - greed is such an amazing economic engine. During 2007 we have cashed in all of our boom time investments - our fully paid inner-city PPOR (which made a mind blowing 6-fold increase of what my wife paid in 1993), our 2 GC houses (which each made a nice 30% over the couple of years we had them) and even my rather conservative stock portfolio. By October we walked away with enough to outright purchase our dream home on 23 acres of lush fertile secluded land that is still within commute of the city (which doesn't really apply as I telecommute 3 out of 5 days) . We still have plenty left over and that has been going into taking us off the utilities grid as much as possible and setting up extensive self-sustaining Permaculture on our 10 best acres. The leftover will be going into bullion.
I'm breathing easy for the first time in my adult life - I now have everything I want and feel absolutely zero need to try reach that magic waterfront showboat home that so many of my peers are killing themselves to get to. I'm dept free with a wonderful family and ultra low-cost lifestyle -Just in time to celebrate the big 4-0 this year and then sit back and watch (from a nice safe 150kms) the fun unfold.
As for anyone still in the city and with evaporating equity and believing they will be able to service unsustainable debt in a soon-to-be declining employment market, well sorry but no amount of positive talking or denial from the sprukers here is going to change the fact that you are in for some serious trouble ahead.