Some Borrowers Rescued

Wall Street Journal (03/04/08) P. A3; Simon, Ruth
The Hope Now Alliance reported on March 3 that mortgage companies helped 1.04 million homeowners stay in their homes between July 1 and Jan. 31, adding that 73 percent received repayments plans and 27 percent benefited from loan modifications. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson praised the efforts of the mortgage coalition leading the industry's initiative to contain foreclosures and said the report shows that "looking at the big picture, we're making progress." Still, 43 percent of homeowners who were able to work out deals in January were prime borrowers--up from 37 percent in the fourth quarter--which is a concern. Also, there were more than 67,000 foreclosures in January--up from 49,000 in December and an average of about 45,000 a month during the fourth quarter.