Looks like Sheila Bair’s proposal on loan modification to counter the progressing wave of foreclosures is garnering points towards success especially since housing markets has radiating news that the answer to financial crisis is solving the mortgage problem.
Indices as recorded by the National Association of Home Builders showed a fall from 14 down to 9 in October, and even recorded new lows this November.
Also during the third quarter, 120 of 152 metro areas showed declining home prices, 28 of which exhibited gains while the remaining four appeared to be steady. Foreclosure homes accounted for about 35-40 percent of home sales during the same quarter.
A few weeks ago, Bair, together with Paulson and Bernanke testified in the House Committee that stabilization of global finance and present situation of the national economy may be achieved by preventing and minimizing foreclosures. Although a certain level of decline in home prices may be necessary to bring housing markets in the U.S. into balance, the continuous distress financially-imposed on homeowners at high risk of foreclosures can result to extreme decline in home prices.
Other undesirable effects of foreclosures are the following:
- Vacant homes that may become root causes for crimes, hence decreasing the value not only of the house but of the entire homes within the neighborhood.
- Fees (legal, broker’s, property management, holding) and other costs that may total to 20-40 percent of value of property in the market.
With the presented scenarios, it all boils down to one conclusion: foreclosures must be stopped. A point Bair has been advocating in her proposal and seeming to become more and more favorable as present economic reports and housing market suggests.
Also, standards for modification of loans must also be worked out by the government to aid borrowers in settling unaffordable loans by making them into loans that may be sustainable in the long run provided the borrower is proven capable of doing so.
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Written by Alex Rolim.
