Mortgage meltdown epicenters everywhere

The aftershocks of the sub-prime mortgage crisis are being felt across the country. But how many epicenters can one meltdown have?

* “. . .Stockton may be the epicenter of the earthquake, with the highest foreclosure rate in the United States. . .”

--International Herald Tribune, Aug. 14

* “In California, Perris is at the epicenter of mortgage problems. From November to January, 177 homes in Perris’ central ZIP Code have received notices of default, the first step toward foreclosure.”

--Los Angeles Times, March 16

* “Las Vegas . . . is the new epicenter of the sub-prime loan crisis, with more than 40% of all homes and condos on the market for sale vacant.”

--Webwire, Aug. 27

* “Florida is at epicenter of U.S. housing bust.”

--FT.com, Aug. 9

* “While tonight’s congressional hearing on predatory lending unfolds in downtown Minneapolis, the epicenter of foreclosures and loan scams is just a few miles away, on the North Side.”

--Minneapolis Star Tribune, Aug. 9

* “ ‘You are in the epicenter of the sub-prime-induced bubble.’ ”

--Wharton professor Susan Wachter

in the Sarasota (Fla.)Herald-Tribune,

Aug. 26

* “The witnesses we have here today are at the epicenter of the sub-prime storm.”

--Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.),

referring to Cleveland at a Senate hearing, July 25

* “. . . Southeast Queens is the epicenter of the sub-prime mortgage foreclosure crisis. . . . “

--New York Beacon, July 12

* “ ‘Welcome to the epicenter of the mortgage meltdown in America.’ ”

--Cuyahoga County Treasurer Jim Ro-

kakis in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 4

* “Florida has been an epicenter of speculation-driven real estate purchases in the past few years.”

--St. Petersburg Times, May 18