Santa Ana block hit hard by subprime lending

John Gittelsohn and Ronald Campbell of The Orange County Register looked at one street in Santa Ana, Calif. to see the impact of subprime lending in the community. Seventeen homeowners on this quiet block took out 83 mortgages, most of them subprime, during a six-year frenzy of deal-making. Easy credit helped triple home prices from 2000 to 2006. But with the money spigot shut off homeowners now are in a bind. Two homes have been foreclosed in the past year, two more are in default and several are for sale. One home recently sold at a loss, and two more are for sale at prices that would guarantee a loss.