More Home Owners Get Loan Modification Help
More Home Owners Get Loan Modification Help
In June, the Home Affordable Modification Program helped 657,044 home owners avoid foreclosure through permanent loan modifications — that’s up from 633,459 in May, according to Treasury Department statistics released Friday.
However, while the number has grown, the numbers still fall short of the initial goal to help 3 million to 4 million borrowers through HAMP, which since 2009 has reduced mortgage payments to help borrowers avoid foreclosure. (Home owners in the program must make a few trial payments before the loan modification becomes permanent.)
For underwater home owners — those who owe more on their mortgages than their home is currently worth — about 6,941 have participated in a principal-reduction program, up from 4,911 last month, the Treasury Department reported late last week. For borrowers who qualified to have their loan balances reduced, they’ve seen median principal reductions of $67,751, or 30.7 percent.
"We're continuing to see a slight improvement in home prices and a decline in mortgage defaults as our foreclosure prevention programs reach more borrowers upstream in the process,” says Raphael Bostic, Housing and Urban Development assistant secretary. “But we have much more work to do to help the market recover and to reach the many households there and across the nation who still face trouble."
Source: “Number of Home Owners in Loan Modification Program Rises,” Dow Jones Business News (Aug. 5, 2011)
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