The housing market continues on its recovery path as home prices improve, thereby lifting nearly 1.3 million families above water, the housing scorecard released by the Obama administration showed.
The August edition of the Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard, which is a detailed report on the U.S. housing market, was recently released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Treasury. It shows the strength of today’s housing market and details how various measures undertaken by the administration have aided housing recovery.
“The Obama Administration’s efforts to speed housing recovery are showing clear signs of traction as the scorecard indicators highlight market momentum not seen since before the housing crisis,” HUD Acting Assistant Secretary Erika Poethig said in a statement. “With median sales prices the highest they've been since the earliest months of the Administration, underwater borrowers down by 11 percent since the end of last year and more than half a million refinances through our enhanced Home Affordable Refinance Program so far this year, it is clear that we’re making progress.
"But with so many households still struggling to make ends meet, we have important work ahead. That is why we are asking the Congress to approve the president’s refinancing proposal so that more homeowners can receive assistance.”
The report shows that the number of underwater borrowers fell 11 percent from the end of 2011, a drop from 12.1 million in the 4th quarter of 2011 to 10.8 million in the second quarter of 2012.
Besides, the housing scorecard highlights measures taken by the government to help homeowners tide over uncertainties in the market. For instance, the Home Affordable Modification program continues to benefit homeowners with close to a million homeowners receiving permanent HAMP in July. This has helped save approximately $538 on their mortgage payments each month, and an estimated $14.4 billion to date, the release stated.
“The Making Home Affordable Program has established critical standards that have changed the way the mortgage industry does business, leading to relief for millions of struggling homeowners,” Treasury Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability Tim Massad said in a statement. “By shining a spotlight on individual servicer performance in key areas, and requiring improvements through our compliance process, the nation’s largest mortgage servicers are fixing their processes while being held publicly accountable.”
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