Video: Divorce rate dropping with real estate market

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SEATTLE - During the Great Depression, the divorce rate dropped sharply.  Couples couldn't afford to pay the legal fees to split up. These days, the real estate market could be keeping couples together. 

For most people, a house is the most valuable asset they own.  Today, some divorce lawyers and therapists say trying to sell a house is starting to make things even more complicated than they already are. 

For many homeowners, a sluggish real estate market just means a delay in making a move. But for a married couple no longer getting along, it is much more than an inconvenience.

Divorce lawyers and therapists report that the shift in real estate is making breaking up harder to do. 

"They are trapped.  They're trapped!  It's like putting a cat and a dog in a cage and say, here get along!" said Suzi Mohn, individual, couple and family therapist. 

Mohn says that divorce is strongly tied to economics. Today, some couples are forced to live under the same roof because they can't afford to move until their home is sold. 

"And it's tough on kids, if you tell your kids mom and dad are getting a divorce and then they stay in the same house, it sends tremendous mixed messages and the children are going to be living in a situation probably with a lot of conflict," said Mohn. 

Some experts say there could be an upside: couples are forced to pause and consider working on their relationship. The fact is, though, staying together isn't right for everyone. 

"If there's anything serious going on like domestic violence or other kind of abuse or ongoing infidelity anything that makes it untenable or dangerous to live together then there has to be an alternative," said Mohn. 

People in Western Washington are still having an easier compared with other real estate markets.

Experts say sometimes couples have to get creative.  In some cases one party will move out and stay with family for a time or they agree to rent out their home until the market improves.