Role in US Housing Bubble
As house prices rose as part of the United States housing bubble, there was a large increase in the number of jumbo loan applicants. Due to rising prices, many consumers had to take out jumbo mortgages in order to buy modest homes in big-city areas; this option was no longer limited to high-end luxury residences.
Many of these new loans were 40- or 50-year amortization, or had an interest-only option, similar to subprime loans. That meant that the jumbo loan borrower would pay the loan back over a longer period of time, or could defer any repayment of principal for a few years (thereby also increasing the total amount to be paid back). However from 2007, as prices fell and the number of foreclosures rose, lenders turned away from providing jumbo mortgages. Lenders that did remain in the jumbo loan market increased rates sharply, with rates up to 1.5 percentage points higher than for conforming loans. This withdrawal from the market led to a lack of lending available to fund the purchases of expensive homes, thus putting further downward pressure on house prices and completing a vicious circle.
The delinquency rate on jumbo loans rose dramatically, tripling over the course of 2009, and by February 2010, almost one in ten jumbo mortgages were 'seriously delinquent' (i.e. in arrears by at least 60 days).
Read more about this topic: Jumbo Mortgage
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