U.S. mortgage relief program reaches 650,000 borrowers

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. government mortgage relief program has reached one in five eligible homeowners, or more than 650,000 borrowers, reported the Treasury Department on Tuesday.

The department said that as of the end of October, 20 percent of 3.2 million eligible homeowners have signed up for trials lasting up to five months.

Under the 50 billion dollars "Making Home Affordable" mortgage loan modification plan, which President Barack Obama unveiled in February, homeowners who are in trouble to pay their mortgage can reduce monthly payments to more affordable levels.

The goal of the plan is to help 3 million to 4 million borrowers within three years.

The Treasury report said that now nearly 920,000 loan modification offers have been sent to more than 3.2 million eligible homeowners. That works out to 29 percent, up from 15 percent at the end of July.

"As this report demonstrates, struggling homeowners in every state now benefit from reduced monthly mortgage payments and have an opportunity to stay in their homes," said Treasury Assistant Secretary Michael S. Barr. "The program is having a pronounced impact in areas particularly hard hit by the housing crisis."

"We are reaching borrowers at a larger scale than any other modification program to date, but there is still much more work to be done." Barr added.

Most of the borrowers enrolled so far have been signed up for preliminary trial modifications for up to five months. To make the change permanent, though, they must complete a big stack of paperwork and show they can make their payments on time. The government expects to release details in the coming weeks on permanent modifications.

The burst of housing market bubble triggered the worst financial crisis and economic recession after the Great Depression since 1930s.

To help homeowners keep their homes and stimulate the housing market has become one of the top priorities of Obama administration's economic policies to tackle the crisis.

Besides the Make Home Affordable program, the U.S. government also launched first time home buyers' tax credit program which was extended last week. It was originally designed to expire by the end of this month.

With foreclosures and delinquencies still soaring, economists worry that the U.S. housing market remains in trouble.