By Daniel Indiviglio
Is the 30-year, fixed rate mortgage — so beloved by Americans — in danger of extinction? That’s what banks, investors, and realtors would have you believe. They have been warning that if the government steps back from insuring the mortgage market, the product will vanish. Their deafening chorus has grown so difficult to ignore that a front page article in the New York Times today focused on the potential death of the 30-year, fixed rate mortgage. Is it really in jeopardy, or is this fear mongering by the financial industry?