The Green Eyed Monster

Today has been a tough day. I just started this blog, and it's actually been making me a tiny bit excited about rediscovering our condo and tackling some projects. I was beginning to think that this experiment could be crazy enough to work, and that writing about my house might make me learn to like it more.

But then I've spent nearly all day hearing a friend' new house. They had the offer accepted finally, after a long short sale process. I'm totally happy for them– they're some of my favorite people. However, it is so hard to hear people talk up their new real estate deals when I'm feeling so desperately underwater on our "investment." Their new house is LESS than ours was, but it's a four bedroom house with a basement, and ours is a two bedroom, one level condo. And it's in our same neighborhood.
That's part of the reason we didn't buy a single family home when we bought – they were completely out of our price range. We could either buy a house in a sketchy neighborhood, or a condo in a good one. We chose the condo. And not to say that was a bad decision at the time… I think it was the right one. But lately all I hear about are the deals people are scoring now. If we had just waited, we could have bought a place twice the size of what we have, with some land. Hindsight is 20/20, but I wish all the time we'd waited.

Do you compare yourself to others? It's a really bad habit that I have. My husband tells me all the time to knock it off, and I know he's right, but it's hard for me to stop. I also worry that people are judging me. Stupid, I know, but it still happens. Basically, I think that my condo appears like a glorified apartment, and that my friends and acquaintances secretly judge me for not buying a "real" home. Any tips for avoiding real estate jealousy? Do I stop torturing myself by looking at listings? (As a real estate junkie, that would be tough. I love to look at both homes I wish I could buy now, and similar condos in my area to see what they're selling for. It's always torturous, but addicting at the same time.) Do I run when someone wants to talk about their new house? Never help my friends move into their new digs? Or do I just suck it up and deal?

If you're underwater, what do you do to cope in this buyer's market?