low down payment

Negative equity is linked to higher foreclosures. About a quarter of households with mortgages already owe more than their homes are worth. If prices slip further, up to half of all homeowners may end up underwater -- a scary prospect for Americans' financial health.

Low down payments, risky mortgages guaranteed by government entities, rising defaults -- haven't we been here before? Isn't this the same mix of easy money and poor risk-management that blew up the housing market in 2007 and 2008? You'd think the mortgage industry and the federal government would...