Three Years Later, the Housing Crisis Continues

Banks and mortgage lenders now own a million foreclosed properties, with another million on the verge of repossession this year, creating a drag on the real estate market that will only get bigger. In the worst hit states, attorneys general are gearing up to investigate and prosecute lenders for fraud in both sales and foreclosures. In Washington, the bi-partisan Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations issued a 650-page report outlining risky, deceptive practices by Goldman Sachs and other major Wall Street investment houses that made big money, essentially by betting against their own clients. Should they be prosecuted too? Would high-profile convictions renew public confidence in the home-loan industry or slow the market even more?