by Calculated Risk on 1/27/2009 11:59:00 AM

UPDATE: Several people has written to me saying this is nothing new. Maybe it should be the 4 D's Death, Disease, Divorce, Debt ... or more D's too (I've received several suggestions). Best to all!

Historically the Three D's of housing that forced homeowners to sell, or into foreclosure, were Death, Divorce, or Disease.

I've seen this revision a few times recently ...

“If you sell in this market, it’s usually one of the three D’s: death, divorce or debt.”

Paul Brennan, regional director for the Hamptons at Elliman, Bloomberg, Jan 7, 2009 (hat tip Rick)

Really there are four D's right now.