Skip to content
Technology & Innovation —

Lone Star Survivor

Why did Texas, remarkably, escape the worst of the burst of the real estate bubble? The state has had a comparatively low mortgage default rate through the recession, and Alyssa Katz looks at the broader secret to the state’s success, and what Washington might learn from it.
Sign up for Big Think on Substack
The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

Why did Texas, remarkably, escape the worst of the burst of the real estate bubble? The state has had a comparatively low mortgage default rate through the recession, and Alyssa Katz writes that the broader secret to the state’s success may be that it limits “cash-out” refinancing and home-equity lending. Even though not everyone loves the state’s borrowing rules, maybe Washington can learn from Texas’s example.

Sign up for Big Think on Substack
The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.
Related
A bearded man wearing glasses and a plaid shirt speaks with a microphone clipped to his collar in front of a purple background with white dots.
The Well
How Rainn Wilson discovered sacredness
The hospital where Rainn Wilson’s wife and son nearly died became his own personal holy site. There, he discovered that the sacred can exist in places we least expect it. During his talk at A Night of Awe and Wonder, he explained how the awe we feel in moments of courage and love is moral beauty — and following it might be the start of our spiritual revolution.
▸
13 min
—
with
Rainn Wilson
Up Next