Assuming an Old Remedy

Bruce Norris, president of the Norris Group in Riverside, Calif., sees modern simple assumptions as one potential antidote to foreclosures and plunging home values. He points out that assumptions were a crucial buoy for home sales and prices during the housing bust of the early 1980s. In California, the assumption loan was the predominant method for buying a house then, keeping values steady despite a tenfold increase in foreclosures and 11 percent unemployment, he says. \”I think this is one of the pieces of the puzzle that would help today.\”