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2L
Second Life Online Game (which has a virtual Real Estate market)

80/20 Loan
See Piggy-back Loan

ABS
Asset-backed security

ABX
Synthetic asset-backed security

AG
Alan Greenspan (former Federal Reserve chairman)

ALT-A
A “less than prime” mortgage quality designation.

AP
Associated Press

ARM
Adjustable Rate Mortgage

ASU
Arizona State University

Bag-Holder
Person left holding the bag on some asset after its value has fallen.

BK
Bankruptcy

BoA
Bank of America

BOJ
Bank of Japan

Bubble
See Housing Bubble

Bubblehead
A person who follows the housing bubble.

CAR
California Association of Realtors

CBC
Central Bank of China

CDS
Credit default swap

CIDA
Canadian International Development Agency

Co-broke
Cooperating broker

Comp
Comparable property used for appraisal purposes.

CRisk
Calculated Risk Blog

DL
David Leerah (NAR Chief Economist)

Doom
see Housing Doom Blog

F&F
see Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae
Federal National Mortgage Association (a GSE)

FASB
Financial Accounting Standards Board

FDIC
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Fed
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

FHA
Federal Housing Administration

FHFA
Federal Housing Finance Agency

FHFB
US Federal Finance Board (regulator of the FHLBs

FHLBs
US Federal Home Loan Banks (“baby” GSEs

Flipper
A speculator who buys a house in order to sell it quickly for a profit.

Freddie Mac
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (a GSE)

FSBO
A property that is for sale by owner

GF
Greater Fool

GLVAR
Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors

GSE
Government Sponsored Enterprise

Housing Bubble
A periodically occurring economic bubble caused by the artificial inflation (and subsequent contraction) of home prices.

HP
Housing Panic Blog

HUD
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

HufPo
Huffington Post

I/O
Interest Only

Implicit Guarantee
Expectation the U.S. Congress will bait out defaults of agency debt.

JV
Joint Venture

KAIROS
Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, a Canadian faith-based ecumenical organization.

LIBOR
London Interbank Offered Rate, a daily reference based on the interest rates at which banks offer to lend unsecured funds to other banks in the London wholesale money market

LTV
Loan to Value ratio

MBA
Mortgage Bankers Association

MBS
Mortgage-backed security

MID
Mortgage Interest Deduction

MLS
Multiple Listing Service

MSM
Mainstream Media

NAHB
National Association of Home Builders

NAR
National Association of Realtors

NASDAQ
National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations

Non-traditional mortgage
A mortgage other than a fully amortizing loan to a borrower with good credit.

NYT
New York Times

OCC
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (charters, regulates, and supervises all national banks)

OFHEO
Office of the Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (regulator of F&F)

Piggy-back loan
A borrower makes 20% down payment to avoid PMI, then takes out the second (piggy-back) loan to cover initial down payment.

PIPSC
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, a Canadian public service workers union.

PMI
Private Mortgage Insurance

QSPE
Quality Special Purpose Entity (a sort of JV used by GSEs for risk management of their MBS holdings.

Realtor
NAR registered trademark and branding of their Real Estate Agents

RE
Real Estate

REIC
Real Estate Investment Council

REO
Real Estate Owned

RESPA
Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act

RMBS
Residential Mortgage-Backed Security

SEC
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

SFAS
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (one of the ways that FASB designates its numbered accounting rules)

Sub-prime
A sub-prime lender is one who lends to borrowers who do not qualify for loans from mainstream lenders. A sub-prime borrower is one who cannot qualify for prime financing terms.

Suicide loan
See Non-traditional mortgage

TARP
Troubled Asset Relief Program

Toxic mortgage
See Non-traditional mortgage

WaMu
Washington Mutual Bank

WaPo
Washington Post

WSJ
Wall Street Journal