Investigative Report Links High Foreclosure Rates To Small Number Of Real Estate Pros

In Southern California, North County Times reports:

• A tiny number of real estate brokers is associated with an inordinately large number of foreclosures in North County, raising questions about how just a few salesmen could play a role in sending hundreds of families into foreclosure and causing millions of dollars in losses for lenders.

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• Certainly, no single real estate office or group of agents can be blamed for the economic meltdown. However, great financial losses seem linked to the activities of a small number of professionals.

• A North County Times investigation into thousands of foreclosure records, along with interviews with buyers, reveals a pattern that suggests some real estate agents specialized in clients ---- chiefly Latinos ---- who couldn't afford to buy homes, and helped them buy as many as possible.

For the rest of this investigative report, see HOUSING: Handful of brokers linked to glut of local foreclosures (21 real estate offices had huge rates of failure among buyers).