Catherwood LibraryILR School

The housing crisis, once contained mostly to irresponsible lending and subprime mortgages, has worsened as job loss in the United States has worsened. Foreclosures have begun to increase steadily in the prime mortgage category - the type of loans given to homeowners with stable credit. Unemployment in the US currently sits at 8.9%, but many economists expect it to reach double digits in the coming months. They furthermore expect that as unemployment worsens, so too will the number of foreclosures, further exacerbating banking problems. Economists refer to the current housing state as the 'third wave.' One expert says that "that loss of jobs and loss of overtime hours and being forced from a full-time to a part-time job is resulting in defaults...coast to coast."