The graphs of percentage-down payments looks exactly backwards from what I might have guessed had someone asked me just prior to reading this. In the run-up to the meltdown, most borrowers were still putting between 5 and 20 percent down. (I think that blue line to the left of the 5 value is "3.5%," or the standard FHA down payment.) My guess would have been that the far left of that graph would grow higher as 2008 approaches and then drop after. It doesn't; the 20% line stays as the overall winner, even though 5 and 10 percent down still collectively beat it.
I see that the post frames it as "so many low-down mortgages" but I look at it as "a whole lot of people were still putting 20% down." I wonder if some of this had to do with the appraised value...the value was seen as "high enough" so a higher initial LTV was acceptable because 5% was still sufficient skin in the game. (Oh, who am I kidding? Many loans made in the years prior to 2008 had only superficial relationships with reality.)