HOPE NOW Data Reveals Housing Crisis Worsening

Established a year ago, HOPE NOW is an alliance comprised of mortgage lenders and private advocacy groups with a primary objective of providing assistance to troubled homeowners in order for them to avoid losing their home to foreclosure.

In a press release issued last month, the alliance claims that it already helped over 1.7 million homeowners stay in their homes. But looking at their data, analysts and experts have observed that the group’s efforts are being overwhelmed by the enduring foreclosure crisis. In other words, the volume of homes entering foreclosure seriously outnumbers the volume of mortgages worked out by HOPE NOW.

Below is the summary of the press release:

• The number of seriously delinquent mortgages has doubled in the last year. This includes prime and subprime mortgages
• At least 85,000 homeowners lost their homes to foreclosure in May. This figure represents the highest number of foreclosure in a single month since the formation of the group.
• Compared to the number of mortgages that entered foreclosure, loan modifications is relatively small. In fact, out of 276,000 troubled mortgages, there were only 70,000 borrowers who enjoyed the benefits of a loan modification program.
• The number of troubled homeowners has also risen dramatically over the last year. According to the group’s data, there are approximately 1.9 million mortgages which are at least 60 days delinquent in May and are in danger of entering foreclosure.

Experts are also concerned whether the group is providing long-term solution to these troubled mortgages. The data that HOPE NOW released did not provide any clear details about the workouts and mortgage modifications that were completed.

Obviously, the efforts of this alliance is not enough and the federal government must take their efforts to a higher level if they are sincere in their desire to curb the foreclosure crisis.

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