Columbia SC Housing Hoping Washington May Help Out

The Columbia SC housing market is hoping new initiatives from Washington will help

Several new initiatives were announced recently at the Making Home Affordable summit that will hopefully spur the Columbia SC housing market.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew identified three specific issues that are holding back Columbia SC housing and announced plans to address each of those issues.

Three New Plans to Help Columbia SC Housing:

  • The extension of the Making Home Affordable program until "at least December 31, 2016"
  • A plan to expand access to credit by working to revive the private-label mortgage-backed securities market
  • A new partnership between the Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to build new, affordable rental housing

Lew said, "These new actions will help provide more affordable options for renters, assist homeowners facing foreclosure or juggling bills to pay their mortgages and expand access to credit for prospective borrowers.”

The Making Home Affordable program has provided relief to homeowners across the country, including more than a million homeowners who have been able to permanently modify their mortgages through HAMP and save roughly $540 a month in mortgage payments. The Making Home Affordable program is not just helping families keep their homes, it is giving families peace of mind.

In spite of the success of the program, there are still a lot of would-be homebuyers with good credit who cannot get into the Columbia SC housing market due to the lack of private capital in the mortgage market.

Lew said, "Fostering the development of a safe and sustainable private market for mortgage lending that can serve alongside government-supported options is seen as critical to the long term success of the Columbia SC housing market, and that is why I have directed my team to bring investors and securitizers together in the months ahead so we can uncover new paths to increase private investment.”

Lew also called on Congress to extend the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, “so struggling families that have lost their home to foreclosure or that have sold their home in a short sale in order to move into more affordable housing are not punished with a large tax bill.”

He also urged Congress to pass housing finance reform. "The work in the Senate Banking Committee was an important milestone on the road to reform, but lawmakers need to keep moving forward," he said.

To stay abreast of news as it affects the Columbia SC housing market, find more Columbia SC real estate news under the news category to your right below Columbia SC Real Estate Categories.

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