Housing bill offers only modest help to homeowners
Thursday, July 24th, 2008
By Staff
Passage expected within days
WASHINGTON - The sweeping housing bill that the House passed Wednesday will give the White House the power to bolster troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
But the bill, which President Bush could sign as early as this week, will provide only modest benefits for home buyers or for borrowers facing foreclosure.
After months of negotiations between House and Senate lawmakers and the Treasury Department, Bush dropped his opposition Wednesday to a provision for $3.9 billion in grants for devastated neighborhoods.
The legislation, aimed at helping 400,000 strapped homeowners avoid foreclosure and to prevent Fannie and Freddie from collapsing, quickly passed the House in a 272-152 vote. The measure is on track to pass the Senate and become law within days.
Although the bill was widely praised by real estate industry groups, doubts remain about how much real-world impact it will have for consumers.
"This isn't going to be the catalyst for a better housing market," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "It may staunch some of the downturn, but it's going to have a very modest positive impact." (more…)
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