The Globe ran a "real estate chat", yesterday, with Kimberly Blanton, their primary real estate reporter.

Fun, interesting, and educational chat.

I was surprised, however, by the following comment by Ms Blanton:

One of the primary reasons for the subprime mortgage problems was that first-time homebuyers unfortunately got into buying a house without understanding their mortgage.

That is a gross generalization with what I think has very little factual basis.

One of the primary reasons for the subprime mortgage problems was that first-time homebuyers took out loans they couldn't afford to pay back!

That's quite different.

More: Real estate chat transcript - Boston.com