Many first time homeowners don't make a very substantial down payment. (greenresidential.com)
Also, they didn't do any subprime lending, because they can't: the definition of a subprime loan is precisely a loan that doesn't meet the requirement, imposed by law, that Fannie and Freddie buy only mortgages issued to borrowers who made substantial down payments and carefully documented their income. (economistsview.typepad.com)
In the past, Real Estate Investments would often only generate positive cash flow with substantial down payments of 50 % or more, or with «negative amortization» or «interest only» loans that were fraught with risk. (jvmlending.com)