2.9 million refinance home loans through government program

08.15.09
By Nicholas Storie

An increasing number of Americans are getting help from the government in their attempt to stop foreclosure, as the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reports that almost 3 million home loans have been modified through July.

The agency reports that of these home loan modifications, 1.9 million have occurred since the inception of the Making Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) in April.

Of the total home loans that were modified over the course of 2009, more than 190,000 were part of the streamlined GSE refinance process. While most of these refinanced home loans (68 percent) were for properties with loan-to-value (LTV) ratios below 80 percent, more than 60,000 had an LTV ratio between 80 percent and 105 percent.

Although these figures show that only some of the nation's homeowners who are "underwater" on their home loan received assistance, that may change in the upcoming months as the HARP program was expanded last month to include properties with a LTV ratio of up to 125 percent.

A recent report from Zillow.com found that almost one-quarter of all homeowners in the U.S. owe more on their home than it is worth.

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2.9 million Americans are seeing more affordable home loan payments