While homebuyers, mortgage brokers and investment bankers in the United States are trying to decide how long they have before it's time to jump off the "I-screwed-up-I-can't-live-with-myself" bridge, buyers in China might be laughing at our supposed woes.

Real estate lawyer Robert J. Abalos, author of the most widely sold real estate book in publishing history, Investing in Land, offered a "wake-up" comparison on his January 24, 2007 blog:

U.S. home prices fell last year for the first time since The Great Depression of the 1930s. Prices didn’t fall during the TEN recessions since World War II.

This is an estimate, because we've kept records on median home prices only since the late 60's.

Meanwhile, in Beijing, home values may have increased 50% since 2005, according to Loretta Chao and Jason Leow, writing in January 18's Wall Street Journal.

That figure could be high, but in recent years the average run-up in large cities has been 15%-30%–stark contrast to the United States' slowing to 1.17% then plunging, relatively, below Great Depression losses. China may face some slow downs in the coming months, just as Westerners gulp for fresh air and optimism.

Neither shore is likely to see the masses losing their homes and pitching tents near their workplaces as happened in the Great Depression. However, everyone could benefit from getting back to the basics of making a living by adding value to someone or something instead of trying to win the real estate lottery.