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Article: Credit crunch hits equity loans ; Homes no longer sources of easy cash for holidays.
- Article from:
- Columbia Daily Tribune
- Article date:
- December 17, 2007
CopyrightCopyright 2007 Columbia Daily Tribune. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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MINNEAPOLIS - In every holiday shopping season from 1995 through
2005, Christmas was on the house.
Not this year.
The housing downturn that started last year and has accelerated
this year has barred the chimney to Santa in many homes, as owners
find they no longer have the growing equity that can be tapped again
and again to finance spending.
"People have been using their home as a very large ATM for a
number of years," said Keith Leggett, senior economist at the
American Bankers Association in Washington. "With housing values
declining, rising defaults and greater concern about excess of
risks, clearly we've seen banks pull back on underwriting. They've
tightened their terms of credit."
The ...