Or as the article states…

They bought a house to stay in when they had to commute in to the city, and planned to rent it out when not staying there to make it feasible.

They also could not sell it “for a profit” because, as the article states, housing prices had tanked since they bought it.

Yeah, it sucks when you’re an investor and you have to sell your investment at a loss. Anyway.

(Also… are prices tanking in Austin? If so, first I’ve heard of it. Sounds more like the investment was already a stretch for them, and when it couldn’t flow cash in exactly the way they wanted expected, it was game over.)

I wouldn't call it tanking, but I bought my house here in 2017 and it was worth double what I paid circa late 2021 to 2022. Now it's 'only' worth 60% more. I can imagine if you were unlucky buying a house in 2021-2022 you would be a bit underwater, but it's more like the hype cycle finally diminished when interest rates cooled late last year.

I have no sympathy for a wealthy couple which decides to derive passive income without providing any value to the world getting booted and having to live with the consequences of their own actions. If they couldn't handle to possibility of losing money on their "investment", they shouldn't have bought the house in the first place