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All of the above and one factor that has been, thus far, overlooked.
Investors. Behind those mortgage companies (predators and nonpredatory ones) and banks, are the moneymen. When mortgage and RE portfolios and bundled products containing them began to drop in value, they took a hard look at banking and lending practices of the last few years.
The rate of foreclosures began to skyrocket, and probably will continue for some time, leading the investors behind the scenes to tighten the screws on how much exposure they wanted to a dwindling asset. That means less money on the market for new mortgages and less money for existing companies to fund even their day to day operations, things like rent on office space, employees, phones. It was a perfect disaster waiting to happen, created in fact, by the very people who ended up going broke-the mortgage lenders and bankers.
Of course it is a LOT more complicated than that, with hidden players in every corner either counting their losses or licking their wounds.
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