Welcome to the Party

The latest victim of the mortgage crisis? How about the Mortgage Bankers Association. The trade group is scheduled to close on a new $100 million headquarters in Washington, D.C. this spring. But what once seemed a fitting statement for a rising industry has become a different kind of metaphor. The Washington Post reports that the group is struggling to pay the bill.

Tightened lending standards mean the Mortgage Bankers must pay a 10 percent larger downpayment than originally planned, and their loan will carry a higher interest rate. The bill is coming due just as the trade group's revenues are in sharp decline. The group lost 500 of its 3,000 members in the last year. It expects revenues to fall by a similar amount from the $47 million collected in 2006.

But don't accuse the Association of hypocrisy. It is standing by the notion that it's a good time to buy. "Anytime is the best time to buy," said Kieran P. Quinn, chairman of the association. "Over a 10-year horizon, [the purchase] looks great."