Targeted in Bubble, Latinos Now Face Foreclosure Flood

The US housing crisis has hit particularly hard in the Latino community, the Wall Street Journal reports, which was targeted by both lawmakers and lenders—often with subprime and other risky mortgages—during the bubble. Hispanic homeownership swelled 47% between 2000-2007, and the foreclosure crisis has hit hard for many who saw buying a home as the pinnacle of the American dream.

Programs pushing no-income, no-asset loans appeared “to target borrowers who would have trouble qualifying for a mortgage if their financial position were adequately disclosed,” said a Freddie Mac memo obtained by Congress. “It appears they are disproportionately targeted toward Hispanics.” Now, some counties with large Latino populations see as many as one in nine homes in foreclosure. (More foreclosures stories.)