500-page mortgage applications are the new normal

CNN Money reports:

Years after the housing market melted down, lenders are lamenting the loss of thin, sleek mortgage application files.

Once easy to carry in one hand, the average mortgage application file has now ballooned to 500 pages, according to David Stevens, CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association.

A system with bigger down payments (say 50%) would reduce applications down to almost nothing.