Here is the entire (brief) article from the wsj:
The Realtors and analysts who said the top of the housing market would be immune to the rest of the market's travails have now mostly given up. Most agree high-end homes have followed the rest of the market into the tank.
But what if the high end actually does worse than the rest of the market? Consider:
Jumbo Defaults. This past week, data showed that the delinquency rate for jumbo mortgages -- those too big to qualify for backing by the government -- at 6.9% of prime loans is more than three times as high as regular conforming loans. That suggests mortgages taken out by the affluent and wealthy, or at least the aspiring or former wealthy, are deteriorating at a faster rate.
Fewer Buyers. When seemingly everyone was getting richer, there was a rising number of buyers. With Richistan evacuating faster than Malibu in a mudslide, the number of potential buyers for $1 million-plus homes is on the decline. At least on the middle and lower end of the housing market, there is a crowd of first-time buyers and discount-seekers ready to take up the slack.
Worst Regions. The regions with the highest-valued properties -- New York, California, Nevada -- have reported the steepest price declines. That means homes once priced at the top of the national market may take the biggest spill -- and have the hardest time recovering.
The Indebted Rich. Many assumed the wealthy were living more within their means than the rest of the population. But they may have been just as leveraged as everyone else -- and certainly owe more in dollar terms. From 1995 to 2004, the top 1% of Americans by wealth more than doubled their mortgage and residential debt to $494 billion.
