Housing Market Decline Impacts First-time Buyers
America’s shifting housing market is having a ripple effect on buyers of different income levels and causing some mortgage companies to close. We asked Mark Zandi, Chief Economist, Moody’s Economy.com about the effect that this downturn is having on individual groups of people, starting with first-time buyers.
MARK ZANDI, Chief Economist, Moody’s Economy.com: Well, first-time buyers are in big trouble. And many of those buyers are subprime or alternative day buyers, and they just can’t get credit. The mortgage credit spigot is closed for them, so for first-time buyers, this is a very difficult market.
Across the country, mortgage foreclosures are skyrocketing, home prices are dropping, “For Sale” signs are becoming part of the landscape, and construction is slowing down, as the nation’s housing slump becomes a stubborn fact of life.
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