Treasury reports that home loan program is picking up the pace

The program is still falling well short of its original goal of helping 3 million to 4 million homeowners tweak their mortgages. Almost 674,000 homeowners are now participating in HAMP, either under permanent modifications or under temporary trial periods.

“The data released today demonstrates that the administration’s programs are reaching middle-income homeowners and providing them with real payment relief,” said Tim Massad, the Treasury’s acting assistant secretary for financial stability. “While we cannot prevent every foreclosure, it is important to remember that these programs have helped to create more options for affordable and sustainable assistance than have ever been available before.”

Roughly 1.5 million modifications have been initiated under the program. However, over half of those efforts, totaling 734,509, have been canceled.

On Friday, three House Republicans, including House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), introduced legislation to repeal HAMP.

“HAMP is a colossal failure,” said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), sponsor of the bill and chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending. “In many cases, it has hurt the very people it promised to help. It’s one more example of why government interference in the private sector doesn’t work, and that’s why it should be repealed.”

The Treasury also found that foreclosures were down in December, as lenders are reviewing their foreclosure policies after widespread documentation problems were revealed in recent months. The Treasury expects the slowdown to be temporary, and foreclosures to pick up in the future once lenders revamp their foreclosure policies and practices.