The real estate market’s recovery hasn’t unfolded quite as neatly as the stock market’s. The latest housing data suggest the market has begun to slow again. The annual rates of new and existing home sales fell in February, according to the National Association of Realtors and the Commerce Department. And the market is bracing for a January decline in the Case-Shiller home price
There are plenty of impediments to a strong housing recovery right now, including a weak labor market and mixed signals about the broader economic recovery. However, the most obvious hurdle – and the one many analysts say must be jumped before home prices can fully recover – is the mounting pile of U.S. home foreclosures.
The Obama administration took another stab at curbing foreclosures Friday when it announced measures to offer some jobless homeowners a three-month break on payments and give lenders more incentives to reduce the principal on delinquent loans.
Economists and academics say the changes to the administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program are likely to prevent some foreclosures – at least more so than the current iteration of HAMP has – and most say they should have a positive effect on home prices if they are successful, but some say they are skeptical the impact will be felt throughout the market.
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