What’s Behind Obama’s Housing Relief Plan?

By Laura Vecsey

On Super Tuesday, as Republican presidential primaries are contested in 10 states, the White House took the opportunity to show what President Barack Obama wants to do to help responsible homeowners and support the housing market recovery by introducing two new measures.

Saying that the government “cannot fix the housing market on its own,” Obama used his first press conference of the year to reiterate his belief that responsible homeowners “should not have to sit and wait for the market to hit bottom to get relief when there are measures at hand that can make a meaningful difference.”

The two steps from the detailed White House fact sheet announced today are:

• Provide relief for service members and veterans, including those wrongfully foreclosed upon or denied a lower interest rate on their mortgages

• Reduce fees for FHA borrowers looking to refinance.

The White House says these two new measures amplify policies outlined in Obama’s 2012 State of the Union address in January. The announcement comes on top of the historic settlement completed by the Federal government and 49 state attorneys general last month, when it was agreed that five of the biggest lenders would pay upwards of $26 billion in fines and principle reductions.