Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
« Back to the grid | Next story »

Mortgage Meltdown Hits Small Builders

Posted Mar 21, 08 3:00 AM CDT in Business,  US 

(Newser) – The housing market collapse that's sending homeowners into foreclosure is starting to hit small- and medium-size builders left with developments they're unable to sell, the Wall Street Journal reports. Buyers are canceling contracts and builders are missing mortgage payments on often highly leveraged projects. Small regional banks, in turn, could be the next victims.

The government's move to make more credit available through Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae may be too late to prevent a wave of bankruptcies. "Even rock-solid, generational businesses are taking desperate measures," the head of an industry association tells the Journal. Huge firms with deep pockets will be best able to weather the crisis and a wave of consolidation is expected.

Source Wall Street Journal

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Housing Starts Hit 17-Year Low

    Apr 16, 08 8:45 AM CDT
    Housing Starts Hit 17-Year Low Foreclosures and a glut of unsold homes flooding the market were blamed for an 11.9% drop in new housing starts last month, more than twice the slide economists had predicted, reports Bloomberg. Starts are at the lowest level since March 1991, according to the Commerce Department, casting a pall over hope for a rapid economic recovery. "Home construction is probably going to continue to fall right through this year,'' says one economist. More »

Workers build a new homes at a housing complex in Palo Alto, Calif. in this Aug. 16, 2007 file photo.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)
Housing is under construction in Raleigh, N.C. in this Dec. 6, 2007 file photo.   (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, file)
Construction workers frame a new house in Gilbert, Ariz. in this Aug. 31, 2007 file photo.   (AP Photo/Matt York, file)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (
1
 of 2)

Tags

subprime crisis • housing market • foreclosure • mortgage • bankruptcy • banking • construction • small businesses • homebuilders • residential building


Loading...

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other US Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser a team of editors and writers culls the most important stories from hundreds of U.S. and international sources and reduces them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. It's the Newser guarantee: we can take any report or column or video and pack what you need to know into 120 words or less. Newser's short-form aggregation, visual format, and unique information tools help you get more of the kind of news you want, in a quicker and more entertaining way. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »