Legal Commentary

Subprime sense

By Tom Kirkendall

Cato Institute's Alan Reynolds passes along some interesting observations regarding his review of subprime mortgages (see previous posts here). Among them are the following:

Most current foreclosures are on prime mortgages, not subprime.

Half of subprime mortgages are fixed, not ARMs.

Most recent subprime loans were for refinancing, not buying. As appraised values on houses increased, many homeowners just borrowed on the phantom equity and spent it.

About 96% of all mortgages are paid on time. Of the remaining 4%, most are late, but not in default.

Much of the misinformation about mortgages in the mainstream media has come from the Center for Responsible Lending. That's the outfit that received large financial backing from John Paulson, who just made $3-4 billion by shorting mortgage-backed securities during the recent panic in the subprime securities market.

Full post as published by Houston's Clear Thinkers on January 26, 2008 (boomark / email).