Help for Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

November 20, 2008

Everyone seems to agree that flooding the market with empty, foreclosed homes does not help neighborhoods maintain stability – either as a way of living, or regarding the value of homes. Empty homes do nothing for a neighborhood.

Recently some organizations are taking tentative steps to allow homeowners who are defaulting on their mortgage to remain in their homes –at least for the time being.

Fannie and Freddie Mac have announced that they are freezing foreclosure sales until after the new year while they review strategies and the future of their organizations. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. recently announced foreclosure-prevention programs that aim to reduce interest rates, extend repayment schedules and, in the case of Citigroup, reduce loan amounts, to help borrowers keep their homes. But the programs have focused primarily on loans wholly owned by those companies because they feel they have more authority to rework those mortgages.

HSBC is also making more options available to more people. For example, it is contacting customers before their adjustable-rate loans reset to higher rates and freezing the current rate or allowing the borrower to pay a rate below what the new rate would be. The bank also is lowering fixed rates for selected borrowers. All this in an effort to stave of foreclosures.

One way of stabilizing markets where supply exceeds demand is to regulate supply. That way the people who can buy homes can buy from sellers who can’t afford to stay in their current home. But, amazingly enough, new home construction is still going on – even in saturated markets. Merrill Lynch economist David Rosenberg suggests, only half-jokingly, that the Treasury should impose a moratorium on home building. "It sounds like lunacy, but we have to destroy the housing capital stock to help put a floor under the market," he said.

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Local Information for Wichita, KS

Latitude: 37.688848 -- Longitude: -97.336226

Other Area Cities: Derby Haysville Valley Center Andover Newton Wichita Rose Hill

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Wichita, also known as the Air Capital, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, as well as a major aircraft manufacturing hub and cultural center. The city is home to six major aircraft manufacturing companies and McConnell Air Force Base. Wichita is located in South Central Kansas on the Arkansas River, and is the county seat of Sedgwick County. Wichita is the 51st largest city in the United States with an estimated population of 354,865 in the year 2005. The Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which encompasses Sedgwick, Butler, Harvey, and Sumner counties, has a 2004 estimated population of 584,671 persons residing in 245,159 households, making it the 82nd largest MSA in the United States. The Wichita-Winfield Combined Statistical Area also includes Cowley County and has an estimated population of 618,641. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Kansas 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Wichita	Kansas	United States
Population	344,284	2,688,418	281,421,906
Median age	33.4	35.2	35.3
Median age for Male	32.3	33.7	34
Median age for Female	34.6	36.5	36.5
Households	139,087	1,037,891	105,480,101
Household population	339,407	2,606,468	273,643,273
Average household size	2.44	2.51	2.59
Families	87,818	701,547	71,787,347
Average family size	3.1	3.07	3.14
Housing units	152,119	1,131,200	115,904,641
Occupied units	139,087	1,037,891	105,480,101
Vacant units	13,032	93,309	10,424,540

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