Loan Modification Program Starts to Get Some Traction

Loan Modification Program Starts to Get Some Traction
March 12, 2010, New York Times

After a dismal start, the Obama administration’s anti-foreclosure efforts are finally gaining some traction. But the results are still paltry when set against the vast sea of homeowners in trouble. The Treasury Department said on Friday that more than 168,000 households had received permanent new mortgages under its year-old modification program, up from 117,000 in January and 67,000 in December. The homeowner rescue effort, started with much fanfare a year ago, is one of the administration’s biggest initiatives to help the housing market and indirectly the larger economy. But it has been widely criticized for over promising and under delivering.


REOs and Short Sales Account for 50% of California Home Sales
March 13, 2010, DSNews

Foreclosed homes taken back by lenders and distressed short sales accounted for nearly half of all residential home sales in California in 2009, according to a market report released this week by the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.). In 2008, such sales made up 38 percent of annual transactions.


Housing Construction Drops 5.9 Pct in February
March 16, 2010, Associated Press

Housing construction fell in February as winter blizzards held down activity in the Northeast and South. The decline highlighted the challenges facing builders as they struggle to emerge from the worst housing slump in decades. The Commerce Department said Tuesday that construction of new homes and apartments fell 5.9 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 575,000 units, slightly higher than the 570,000 that economists were expecting. January activity was revised up to a pace of 622,000 units, the strongest showing in 14 months