Book Review: Dan Immergluck, Foreclosed: High-Risk Lending, Deregulation, and the Undermining of America's Mortgage Market (Cornell University Press 2009)

Abstract:     
This is a short book review of Dan Immergluck, FORECLOSED: HIGH-RISK LENDING, DEREGULATION, AND THE UNDERMINING OF AMERICA’S MORTGAGE MARKET (Cornell University Press 2009). The book provides a good introduction to the causes of the crisis in the mortgage market. Given, however, that the book was written before the crisis has fully taken its course, it does have certain limitations. In particular, the book deals with some fundamental questions too superficially. These fundamental questions include, what is the right level of complexity for the secondary mortgage market? What is the right level of credit access for subprime borrowers? And, what are the strengths and limitations of a heightened regulatory response to the problems in that market?

Keywords: foreclosure, subprime, mortgage, consumer protection, housing finance, predatory lending , secondary mortgage market

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