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Events Leading to the Real Estate Market Crash of 2008

Author: MJ Jensen Author Ranking Bronze | Posted: 23-07-2008 | Comments: 0 | Views: 9 | Rating:  (201) Article Popularity - Blue (?) Got a Question? Ask.
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MJ JensenWhile many predicted the current collapse of the real estate market, others were taken by surprise when the market that had left plenty of opportunity in the last few years for profit began to tumble.

Certainly, one of the leading events that eventually resulted in the crash of the real estate market was the crumble of the subprime market. As a result an unfathomable amount of companies suddenly were facing bankruptcy. Even those companies that were not forced to declare bankruptcy found they had suddenly lost billions of dollars.

The news has been filled with reports regarding the subprime market crash; however, while it has affected most property owners to some degree there remain many of remain uncertain exactly how this came to be.

Just a few years ago subprime mortgages were a great advantage to many property buyers. Buyers who were interested in taking advantage of the hot real estate market but who lacked good credit histories were able to take advantage of subprime mortgages in order to obtain loans. The underwriting guidelines for these loans were generally more lax than traditional mortgages. This allowed even buyers with poor credit to obtain a loan. In exchange for making a loan to buyer with less than stellar credit, lenders were able to charge a higher rate of interest. In addition, so the theory went, lenders relied on the belief that they would be able to foreclose on property and sell it for a profit in the event the borrower defaulted on the loan.

The money which funded these loans came from a variety of sources. Low interest rates made it possible in many instances for lenders to actually borrow money and then loan out those funds to home buyers. In other cases, the money was obtained from more complicated sources. As you may or may not be aware, it is not uncommon for governments to borrow money from central banks. This practice is particularly common in the United States.

At the time the housing market was stable. In fact, the housing market was experiencing a high that had not been seen in quite some time. Beyond the fact that many homebuyers were taking on massive amounts of debt there also existed another problem. Due to the health of the real estate market at the time, in many cases there were expectations regarding future growth that in hindsight now appear to have been unrealistic.

The last two years of the real estate boom occurred in 2005 and 2006. During that time period lenders did not hesitate in the least to lend money to borrowers regardless of their credit profile. These loans represented a tremendous money-making opportunity for lenders. Problems really began to occur; however, when interest rates began to rise from their previous lows. Historically, rising interest rates have always had a negative effect on the real estate market. When rates are low they help to produce demand; however, when they are high they ultimately cause prices to fall. Until mid-2006 home builders could not build new homes fast enough to meet the growing demand. During mid-year; however, the demand began to slow. It was also about this time that the rate of defaults on loans began to increase.

Before long many mortgage lenders began to find it difficult to obtain money from their previous sources of funding. As a result, would-be buyers discovered that loans were no longer as easy to obtain due to the fact that money was no longer as widely available. Additionally, investors suddenly became wary of taking on risk and underwriting guidelines grew stricter. Homeowners who had taken out loans with adjustable rates began to find it difficult to meet their mortgage payments as interest rates continued to rise. More stringent underwriting guidelines meant they were unable to refinance to fixed rate mortgages in some cases. As a result, defaults continued to rise; fueling the massive rash of foreclosures.
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About the Author:

MJ Jensen has studied Real Estate from the Homeowners perspective for over 20 years. He provides tips on mortgage problems, and understanding debt and credit solutions for consumers. You can visit his site at http://www.stopbankforeclosurestips.com/free_report http://www.stopbankforeclosurestips.com/blog

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Frequently Asked Questions

Smile Turned Upside Down
By: MillionaireMom | 06-08-2008
I bought a house for $745K in 2005 for me and my three kids.  The value of the house has dropped about $100K due to distressed sales and declining market values.  Though the value has decreased, obviously, my mortage has not. In fact, it has increased.  I am not able to refinance because my credit has taken some hits.  I want my house but I feel like I am chasing a cloud and throwing my money into a black hole.  Will I recover from this upside down situation?

What are they doing for those of us who have ...
By: AngryinVA | 24-07-2008
what are they doing for those of us who have already lost there homes to foreclosure? My husband and I built our house for 182,000 and had a mortgage of 198,900.  The lender First Franklin (Home Loan Services), National City Corp, stated the home was only worth 174,000 and was only 1.5 yrs old.   THe original appraisal was 234,000.  We feel we were cheated....we lost over 35,000 in equity and our home.  We tried to work with the lenders to refi (our loan was structured so we could not refi w/in 3years and had a prepayment penalty and interest only for the first 5 years)....We lost our home by no fault of our own...Mrtg pymts 1309//month and husbands hours were cut drastically and I was laid off.  The only thing the bank could tell us instead of restructing the loan was that we needed to get additional jobs and cut down to one auto to conserve fuel expenditures.  GO FIGURE!!!!!  We are wanting to purchase another home but not sure if we can....we were faced to file bk and have not bounced back completely.  WE Feel Cheated and lied to!!! They need to do something for those of us who already lost there homes so that they can get into another home easier!!!!

Short sale
By: dales61976 | 12-07-2008
On a short sale of property, Is there a FHA law that states the max amount that a bank can reduce the sale price to. Thanks Dale

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