Lots of them think they are wealthy because they have lots of assets. But they forgot to subtract the debt from those assets to derive net worth.
The saddest and scariest part is while debt stays the same, asset prices can (and in the case of the great aussie housing price crash) plummet through the floor.
A lot of them are pretty poor in net worth terms. Soon they will know. Their defiance is not just a matter of stubborn pride but I believe it's because they never experienced a housing crash and can't fathom a 50% price fall or more. This is why they have this false sense of indignation when we talk about such significant corrections, they think we are trying to sensationalize the situation r to rub it in.
