Government Issues Housing Data, Says There's 'Much More Work to Do'

Treasury has released a new progress report on its Making Home Affordable initiative, covering all the “H” acronyms – HAMP, HARP, and HAFA.

Since the program started in April 2009, 857,000 homeowners have received permanent loan restructurings under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), and 894,000 have refinanced their mortgages through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) transactions tally just under 19,000.
The grand total of homeowners who’ve received assistance through the government’s “H” programs: 1,777,000.
HUD Assistant Secretary Raphael Bostic says “we saw a continued fall in mortgage defaults” last month due in part to foreclosure prevention programs reaching more borrowers upstream in the process. But Bostic is quick to add, “We have much more work to do.”
Treasury’s latest report shows HAMP trials started during the month of September held steady from the previous month at 26,000, while permanent mods increased by nearly 50 percent to 40,100.
Treasury says HAMP continues to exhibit lower delinquency and redefault rates than other modifications, with just 10 percent behind on their payments by 60 days or more after six months in the program.
Homeowners in active permanent HAMP modifications save a median of $526 per month –more than one-third of the median before-modification payment, according to Treasury. To data, homeowners in permanent HAMP modifications have saved an estimated $8.8 billion in monthly mortgage payments.
Treasury says there are now just 974,095 delinquent borrowers eligible for HAMP assistance.
Treasury also highlighted other foreclosure prevention efforts in its report. The Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) loss mitigation interventions totaled 39,000 in September. Servicers’ proprietary mods, which Treasury listed under the HOPE NOW banner came to 55,800 for the month.
This report is the first to include a data breakdown on HARP. During the month of September, 28,900 homeowners with Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-backed loans refinanced through the program at lower interest rates.
Short sales continue to claim the lion’s share of HAFA transactions. Servicers completed 2,512 HAFA short sales in September and 91 HAFA deeds-in-lieu.