Jeff Ostrowski
Alexandra Clough
Home > Real Time > Archives > 2007 > November > 13 > Entry
The Roulette Economy
LAS VEGAS - Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, told Realtors today that the U.S. housing market got into trouble because lenders had dragged it into “a period of greed.”
During the 2004-2005 boom, many lenders pushed sub-prime mortgages on people who ultimately couldn’t keep up with the monthly payments. Investors were willing to provide money for those shaky loans because they wanted high interest payments. The only consideration was: “We want to get those juicy returns,” he said.
Now that the subprime mortgage market has exploded, Americans will turn away from this “roulette economy” and return to sensible lending practices. “We’ll go back to a serious business,” he said.
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