Housing Market, Mortgage | featured news

President Barack Obama announced fresh aid to struggling homeowners in California Thursday, playing a bit of divide-and-conquer by pitting his Republican critics in Washington against GOP governors and mayors eager for the federal money.

Mortgage applications jumped last week, as low interest rates fueled refinancing activity.

The House has passed legislation to give debt-strapped homeowners a chance to win lower mortgage payments through bankruptcy courts.

About one in every eight U.S. households, a record share, ended 2008 behind on their mortgage payments or in the foreclosure process as job losses intensified a housing crisis spawned by lax lending practices, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Thursday

The Obama administration today released details of $75 billion home loan modification and refinancing programs. Borrowers can start contacting loan servicers.

One in five U.S. homeowners with mortgages owe more to their lenders than their homes are worth, and the rate will increase as housing prices drop in states that have so far avoided the worst of the crisis, a new study shows.

While some U.S. governors were embracing the housing plan President Barack Obama announced last week, as a way to bolster their own assistance efforts, others worried that the plan is unfair.

Some believe the $75-billion proposal could provide the help they need to stay in their homes. Others -- even though they 'feel for people who are having trouble' -- say it's a taxpayer-funded bailout.

As the Obama administration steps up efforts to help troubled homeowners modify their mortgages, it might consider the experiences of two South Floridians.

The Obama administration announced new plans to make it easier for up to nine million people to rework or refinance their mortgages. Geithner said the Treasury is increasing its funding commitment to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.