Where Is The Epicenter Of The Housing Bubble?
The epicenter of the Great Housing Bubble is located in Irvine, California. One of the primary causes of the bubble was the lowering of lending standards and the extension of credit to people who could not handle the responsibility: Subprime borrowers. The word “subprime” has become indelibly linked to the Great Housing Bubble. It is one of the causal factors that make the bubble unique, and the collapse of subprime is widely regarded as the pin-prick which began the bubble’s deflation. Irvine, California, is the center of the subprime universe. Three of the top ten subprime lenders, New Century, Ameriquest, and Option One, are (or were) headquartered in Irvine. Most subprime lenders have processing offices in Irvine due to the large number of trained personnel living in the area.
