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Obama administration facing new pressure on foreclosures

Obama administration facing new pressure on foreclosures
Reuters

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is facing stepped up pressure to provide more details about its efforts to help struggling homeowners stay in their homes.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner earlier this month said about half a million American families are now participating in a home loan modification program initiated by the Obama administration to try to slow the rate of foreclosures.

Home Resales Jumped in September
The Wall Street Journal

Demand for previously owned homes surged in September as buyers grabbed lower prices and a tax credit about to vanish.

Home resales increased by 9.4% to a 5.57 million annual rate from 5.09 million in August, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.

US home sale prices drop in August
Boston Globe

Home prices in the United States fell 3.6 percent in August from a year earlier as record foreclosures and rising unemployment depressed demand.

The region including Nevada and Arizona led the decline, with prices dropping 7.9 percent, followed by a 6.5 percent decrease in the area including California, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said. Prices fell 0.3 percent in August from July, the first decrease in seven months.

Costly fraud and error reported in home buyers' tax program
The Washington Post

Hundreds of millions of dollars may have been paid to people who fraudulently or mistakenly took advantage of a lucrative tax credit for first-time home buyers, including some who were employees of the Internal Revenue Service and even children, an IRS watchdog told a House panel on Thursday.

The findings, documented in a report by the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, come as debate heats up in Congress over whether to extend the $8,000 tax credit beyond its Nov. 30 deadline.

Reports: Home prices to continue slide through next year
Las Vegas Sun

Las Vegas-area home prices are likely to fall further as local foreclosure activity shows no sign of slowing down, two reports said this week.

The Wall Street Journal today reported on its quarterly survey of housing-market data in Las Vegas and 27 other major areas.

Posted: Fri, October 23 2009 9:11 AM by joelc

Comments

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# October 24, 2009 7:40 AM

Susan Morgan said:

This financial cascade is bigger than any market or administration. Any attempt to stem its flow is like throwing sandbags in when the dam has collapsed. It will run its course.

Trying to treat the effects means throwing good money after bad as we have already seen.

Big money has to be directed at the now underlying problem: JOB LOSSES!

People without jobs cannot pay their mortgages, taxes or bills — no matter how many re-modifications, tax credits or softer repossession laws are imposed! These actions are only dragging this process out over a longer period of time, wasting more money and weakening our ability to be effective in the long term.

This is not a time for political posturing or half measures, no time to be cowering to crooked self-serving corporations. Now, more than ever, we need unwavering, focused strong government to put the big money into saving worthwhile industry, businesses, new innovative businesses, environmental-friendly and energy efficient businesses.

Government programs to enable workers to form co-ops to take over, restructure and save their jobs. Tax credits or increased social security going to unemployed who help to sustain or improve their communities through bonafide community projects. Imagine out of work parents helping children read, coaching, organizing, helping out stressed overburdened teachers, single parents, families in strife, the frail and weak. This is not about the individual, we are all in this together, united we stand. This is about our inner strength, our American collective soul.

We have to stop looking at the bug on the wind shield! Look at the road ahead. STIMULATE THE JOB MARKET, lift the spirit, give the people direction and hope, get the American show back on the road before it is too late.

Susan Morgan

 

# October 26, 2009 11:11 AM