The problems in the mortgage industry are having a domino effect in the real estate market. Increasingly, first-time buyers are getting shut out of the market, and that hurts move-up buyers. Homeowners are also having more trouble refinancing their escalating adjustable-rate loans, and that is increasing the number of foreclosures and the supply of homes on the market.

Creative financing tools now biting homeowners (Houston Chronicle)
Many Houstonians got caught in a flurry of free-wheeling lending practices that allowed people to buy homes through creative financing tools that are now disappearing or getting more expensive in the wake of the subprime market's collapse.