Foreclosures and the Subprime Mortgage Market

With as many as one in every 151 homes receiving a foreclosure notice (July 25, 2008 press release from RealtyTrac), much attention is being given to home foreclosure activity and the mortgage market including the subprime mortgage market.

For foreclosure and mortgage statistics, a good starting point is Liber8, from the librarians at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. See "Current Economic Indicators" and "Recent Research."

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has developed Dynamic Maps of Nonprime Mortgage Conditions in the United States.

For a slightly more local perspective, see the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's website. They've set up a Foreclosure Resource Center page. You can also find a PDF version of "Identifying Issues in the Subprime Mortgage Market: The Bay Area" (a presentation by Carolina Reid, PhD) which includes quite a few charts and some statistics.

Keep in mind that it takes the government some time to compile these statistics, so more detailed statistics may not yet be freely available. For more information on finding statistics, see our guide on How to Find Statistics.

Research publications are continuing to emerge.
"Foreclosures in California" from the California Research Bureau Oct. 2008 (this is also available in print at McHenry library).
"Understanding Mortgage Foreclosure: Recent Events, the Process, and Costs" (Nov. 2007) from the Congressional Research Service (CRS)
"Subprime Mortgages: Primer on Current Lending and Foreclosure Issues" (Mar. 2007) from the CRS
"Information on Recent Default and Foreclosure Trends for Home Mortgages and Associated Economic and Market Developments" (Oct. 2007)from the Government Accountability Office
Turbulence in mortgage markets, implications for the economy and policy options" (Sep. 2007)

Congress is also holding hearings on foreclosures and the mortgage market. Recently published congressional hearings include:
H.R. 5679 : the Foreclosure Prevention and Sound Mortgage Servicing Act of 2008" (Apr. 2008)
Accelerating loan modifications, improving foreclosure prevention, and enhancing enforcement" (Dec. 2007)
"Progress in administrative and other efforts to coordinate and enhance mortgage foreclosure prevention" (Nov. 2007)
"Legislative Proposals on Reforming Mortgage Practices" (Oct. 2007)
"Legislative and regulatory options for minimizing and mitigating mortgage foreclosures" (Sep. 2007)
"Evolution of an economic crisis? : the subprime lending disaster and the threat to the broader economy" (Sep. 2007)
"Possible responses to rising mortgage foreclosures" (Apr. 2007)

How well is congress responding to the crisis? Check out "TROUBLED ASSET RELIEF PROGRAM: Status of Efforts to Address Defaults and Foreclosures on Home Mortgages" from the Government Accountability Office (Dec. 2008).

Many of these hearings are being held before the House Committee on Financial Services and the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. In the state of California, check out the publications from the State Senate Committee on Banking, Finance and Insurance. Transcripts from many of these hearings are also available in print at McHenry library.

The following databases (available on-campus or through OCA access) may also be useful in finding additional information:
Academic Search Complete from Ebsco
Regional Business News from Ebsco Host
EconLit


You can also search our collection of newspaper databases.

November 2009 Update:
Check out this bibliography on the Foreclosure Crisis from the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau: Tap the Power: Foreclosure Crisis