OCEAN CITY, Md. — As the hottest real estate markets of two years ago turn into "the biggest losers" and the subprime market crashes, credit unions will likely fair better than other lenders.

It is no secret that credit unions tend to be more conservatively run. Credit unions are not as steeped in the high loan-to-value, low credit score, stated income subprime loans that have been the bane of the market, according to Scott Toler of the Credit Union Mortgage Association. "We've all seen that foreclosures are way up," he told participants in today's education sessions at the Maryland & D.C. Credit Union Association's Annual Meeting. "That's because people were put into loans they shouldn't be in."

While credit unions might want to help their members out of these bad loans, they really need to be cautious of taking on all the bad debt of a troubled industry. "The boom is definitely over and I can tell you when it ended. It ended in August 2005," Peggy Deane of Member Options, LLC said. This has created opportunity for those people looking to get into lower-priced housing while rates are still low. However, as values decline, which they are doing in 25% of markets, credit unions could have difficulty helping their members get out of those bad loans because the amount they owe could now be a lot more than what the house is worth.