by Calculated Risk on 5/10/2008 02:23:00 PM

A follow up to Tanta's post this morning, from Michael Hiltzik at the LA Times: In mortgage meltdown, ‘walkaway’ homeowners may be suburban myth (hat tip Dagny)

Bankers and housing market analysts are warning of a chilling new trend in the mortgage world: Homeowners voluntarily defaulting on their loans even though they can actually afford to make the payments.
...
At Fannie Mae, the government-chartered company that owns or guarantees billions of dollars in home mortgages, Senior Vice President Marianne Sullivan conceded that there was growing "folklore" about residential walkaways but said that the phenomenon was more likely connected to investors than people who live in their homes, or "owner-occupants."
...
Bruce Marks, CEO of Neighborhood Assistance Corp., a Boston-based nonprofit agency that helps strapped homeowners, says flat out that the notion that legions of borrowers are simply deciding not to pay is an "urban myth" that largely reflects the mortgage industry's desire to blame homeowners, rather than their lenders, for the surge in problem loans.

I nominate Michael Hiltzik honorary UberNerd!

P.S. and kudos to Tanta: Let's Talk about Walking Away