The American Dream at Zero Down

Hat tip to an alert reader in Miami for point this out to me: "First-time home buyers could take out government-insured loans without making down payments under a Bush administration proposal. The Housing and Urban Development Department on Wednesday estimated that the 'zero down payment' mortgage initiative, if approved, could help 150,000 families buy their own homes. The proposal is to be included in President Bush's 2005 budget request, which will be released next month. The proposal covers loans made by government-approved lenders and insured by the Federal Housing Administration, which is part of HUD. These FHA loans typically go to first-time buyers or people with riskier credit backgrounds." Well...it's definitely ONE way to keep housing demand rising...by extending credit to new homebuyers at NO MONEY DOWN. Ladies and gentleman, the mother of all credit bubbles is brewing in the U.S. Housing market. Duck.