Obama Administration Releases Housing Report

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Treasury released a report on August 5 that paints a mixed picture of the nation’s housing market. While home prices saw slight increases, the number of foreclosed and distressed homes prevented larger growth, according to the Treasury Department report.

From April 2009 to June 2011, nearly 5 million loan modification arrangements were made between homeowners and the Obama administration, which made the report a little less bleak than expected.

As more mortgage was relief to homeowners, fewer foreclosed on their homes in June, when 4.4 percent of prime mortgages were at least 30 days late, which is much lower than the peak rate of 5.9 percent experienced in 2010.

“This month’s housing data paint a mixed picture of conditions in the market – despite growing evidence of progress in the broader economy,” HUD Assistant Secretary Raphael Bostic said in the press release. “But we have much more work to do to help the market recover and to reach the many households there and across the nation who still face trouble.”