Oh, I'd love that. What prompted the explosion was that everybody and their mother qualified for a loan (this wasn't just the sub-prime issue; it's sad that they both hit around the same time). Then came the 10/1 ARMS, and there was a decade or so of rejoicing (other economic downturns notwithstanding), and more buyers than available property, and the belief that things would only get better. Then... crash of housing value, leaving those still paying with a house worth a large chuck less than what they paid.

The nastiness here is that the those who make less don't really benefit from the lowered rates because of the hard-nosed credit standards (partly based on income).

If I knew more about other markets, I might take a crack trying to come up with scenarios to help the situation just for shits and giggles.