
When subprime borrowers defaulted and lenders foreclosed, the bottom fell out of the housing market. As the distress from toxic mortgage debt worked its way up the housing ladder, each subsequent rung collapsed. Only the upper tiers remain inflated, although probably not for much longer. With the collapse of the bottom of the market, the equity vanished that is necessary to sustain the upper levels of the housing market. In order for the housing market to find a stable bottom, first-time homebuyers must come forward to absorb the distressed inventory. Unfortunately, the typical pool of first-time buyers composed of recent college graduates can't find jobs, and many are burdened with so much student loan debt they can't qualify to buy…[READ MORE]