A decade long tangle of greed and ego by many agencies, market players, congress and yes, you and me, has taken us on an unforgettable roller coaster ride.

  “An Imperfect Storm” by Alan Smith is an excellent article that summarizes the roles of the participants.  http://www.alansmith-re.info/custompage.cfm?cpid=1604

The timing and unintended consequences of the participants has brought us to the brink of economic collapse. 

Congress mandated affordable housing, forcing less stringent  lending criteria and lower interest rates. 

Lenders became more innovative and flexible, as did the secondary mortgage markets, that buy the loans.

Realtors jumped on the band wagon and sold as many properties as we could to buyer’s that would not normally qualify for financing.

Sellers saw the opportunity to maximize profits as supply dwindled and demand increased property values.

Buyer’s, now having a new home, of course, need furniture, appliances, TV’s, window coverings, fencing, landscaping, etc.  

The economy was booming.  We were all living large, we could buy on credit as money was flowing and credit was easy to get.  We could get a line of credit on our home equity and go on vacation. 

What goes up must come down, and that it did!

Wow, now what?  How does this affect you?  See the next post.