In a Rush to Cut and Run? Learn to Love the House You're In.

The housing market has some homeowners up in arms. Sure, if you're trying to sell your house to get out of financial difficulties, or because you have already bought another place and carrying two mortgages is killing you financially, we can understand why you're not happy.

What doesn't make much sense to us are the dozens of readers who say they are ready to hand over their property to the lenders simply because their home doesn't work for them anymore.

Where did these folks get the idea that homes are like disposable consumer goods? When they break, you throw them out? As if, in a matter of minutes, you can get rid of the old and buy something new.

Real estate is what investment advisers call an "illiquid" investment. Historically, it hasn't been easy to sell a house on a whim. It took planning, patience and a lot of ibuprofen to get you through the long months or years (sometimes) without an offer.

But since the early 1990s, homeowners have been able to sell almost on demand, and certainly within a few weeks or months. An entire generation of real estate agents has never known a time like this, when homes just sit. And sit. And sit.

If you cannot sell, the natural inclination is to find another way to get rid of the house. After all, if you hate your car and one dealer doesn't give you a good enough offer, you can try another dealer. Eventually, when 10 dealers tell you your car is worth only $17,000 and not the $20,000 you owe on the loan, you will have to make a decision: Either cough up $3,000 in cash, buy a new car and roll over what's left of your loan into the new larger loan (so you're immediately underwater on your new car), or find a way to keep the car a few more years to pay off more of your loan.

Why aren't more homeowners doing the same thing with their houses? Why complain about how unhappy you are instead of learning to love the house you bought, at least for another few years?

After World War II, builders put up 1,200-square-foot, three-bedroom houses with one bathroom. Soldiers and their wives moved into these suburban residences and raised their families. These houses weren't considered "too small." It's what everyone had.

Today, a 1,200-square-foot condo might contain two bedrooms -- or just one. You might have two bathrooms, or a bath and a half. The typical new house has about 2,400 square feet, central air, an attached two-car garage, several bedrooms and bathrooms, and a built-out attic or basement.

Our friend Fred has been raising his twins in an older 1,200-square-foot house. The house is too small, he says, and they feel on top of one another all the time. They tried to sell, but there wasn't any interest.

So he and his wife have learned to love what they can about the house, including the neighbors, with whom they've grown quite close. The house is affordable. Even if they could sell -- Fred still thinks the market is too soft in their neighborhood -- they probably wouldn't. Their mind-set has changed.

Sometimes our ideas need a little tweaking. As we keep learning, investments like real estate don't always rise in value. It's difficult to find, fix and flip a house and clear $60,000 in a few months, no matter what you see on television infomercials.