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'Zero Down' Loans Fed Real Estate Boom, Bust

Earlier this week, presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain made remarks on the mortgage crisis. McCain pointed out that "zero down" loans were big contributors to the subprime mortgage crisis.

A boom in those kinds of loans got many Americans into homes — and now those loans are causing many Americans trouble.

In a speech on the economy, McCain said too many Americans were able to buy houses with little or no down payment, and that policy should move toward curbing that practice.

Steve Inskeep talks with Chris Arnold about how "zero down" loans and similar financing deals can — and have — become problematic, and about efforts to change regulations.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Steve Inskeep
Steve Inskeep is a host of NPR's Morning Edition, as well as NPR's morning news podcast Up First.
Chris Arnold
NPR correspondent Chris Arnold is based in Boston. His reports are heard regularly on NPR's award-winning newsmagazines Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. He joined NPR in 1996 and was based in San Francisco before moving to Boston in 2001.