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Article: Economic outlook.(housing prices)(interview of Jacob Vigdor)(Interview)
- Article from:
- Business North Carolina
- Article date:
- April 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Business North Carolina. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Foreclosures are on the rise in North Carolina--up 9.4% in 2007 and expected to increase as much as 20% this year. Government help for borrowers and lenders is OK, says one expert, but don't overdo it. After all, it's their own fault. Jacob Vigdor is associate professor of public-policy studies and economics at Duke University. He studied the subprime-mortgage market for the National Taxpayers Union, an Alexandria, Va.-based group that advocates limits on government taxing and spending.
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How did we get into this mess?
In the past 10 years or so, an upward trend in housing prices led people to make questionable decisions. ...