Home buyers are increasingly turning away from traditional 30 year mortgages, instead using ones that make it easier to stop making monthly payments and walk away from the loan if the home floods or becomes unsellable or unlivable. Banks are getting buyers in coastal areas to make bigger down payments–as much as 40% of the purchase price–a sign that lenders have awakened to climate dangers and want to put less of their own money at risk. They are increasingly getting these mortgages off their own books by selling them to government-backed buyers like Fannie Mae, where taxpayers would be on the hook financially if loans fail.
Climate Crisis Blog
