"Mortgages on non-owner occupied properties in Nevada accounted for 32% of prime mortgage defaults as of June 30 as well as for 24% of subprime loan defaults, the Mortgage Bankers Association said... "Defaults are on the rise in most parts of the country, but it should be recognized that it is not always the case of a homeowner losing his or her home," said Doug Duncan, the MBA's chief economist. Rather, it's "often the case of an investor gambling on a continued increase in home values and losing that gamble."

Regardless of political pressure, there should be NO taxpayer bailouts for the speculators who created this mess. That includes the house flippers that bid up the prices, the lax mortgage lenders that fueled the speculation, and the hedge fund investors that bought up the debt. It also includes the people who took out 2nd and 3rd mortgage loans (at inflated prices) to buy luxury cars and pay off their credit cards. It even includes the would-be "homeowners" who thought they could have a $400,000 dream house on a $40,000 salary with no money down, and didn't bother to read the fine print in their ARM contracts!

See: Market Watch article (2007-08)