Mythology
As has been pointed out here, and not just by me, a lot of the foreclosures involve speculators.
While this is not as politically useful as the image of a forlorn old couple who was taken to the cleaners by an evil banker, it is more accurate.
After reading the article, if you go to this map and click on "foreclosures," it's pretty obvious where the problems are.
It's hard to theorize that somehow all the gullible consumers ended up in California, Nevada, and Florida.