A helping hand steadies the housing market for all

[babylonsister]

A helping hand steadies the housing market for all

The broad outlines of the Obama housing plan brings the U.S. housing market back to earth in a controlled landing, not a crash.


PRESIDENT Obama's foreclosure-prevention programs bring federal economic-stimulus plans down to the streets and neighborhoods where America lives.

Helping people to stay in their homes is not only good for the economy, but it also provides a measure of calm and stability for struggling families.

Details of the administration's expansive effort to help millions of households refinance their mortgages will be out March 4. The broad outlines describe plans to bring the U.S. housing market back to earth in a controlled landing, not a crash.

Washington Sen. Patty Murray noted the president's plan, "focuses on those who have fallen behind, not those who could never afford their mortgages in the first place." House flippers who got caught by the market suffer the consequences.

Homeowners who have dutifully paid their mortgages in the midst of a roiling housing market ought to be grateful their lives have not been turned upside down. None is likely to have complained as their home value climbed in the midst of the housing boom.

On the down side, the painful reality is that a foreclosure down the block will redefine house values for the neighborhood. A forest of "For Sale" signs is a death knell for all. Protecting home and hearth means help for others.

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