The SF Chronicle banners on its front page, “Neighborhoods Crumble in Wave of Foreclosures“:
The combination of plunging values and higher mortgage payments created the perfect breeding ground for foreclosures. Homeowners who could not afford escalating monthly payments also could not refinance if their homes were worth less than the mortgages, and could not sell for enough to pay off their loans. That left foreclosure as the most likely outcome.
If any other Bay Area newspaper was more of a cheerleader for the real estate bubble as it inflated than the Chronicle, I don’t know what it is. Now as the meltdown occurs, there’s apparently no reflection inside the paper about its own role in this mess.