Obama White House plans new housing push

I have no clue what the hell they’re doing. Just frigging call a moratorium on payroll taxes for 6 months and let the low info folks suck up a few more perishables a week. That’ll be something they’ll understand.

Washington (CNN) - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan revealed to CNN Friday that the Obama administration plans next week to unveil two new initiatives to deal with the crumbling housing market, and he left the door open to also reviving the expired $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers that had been propping up the industry.

“We’re going to be rolling out an FHA refinancing effort to help borrowers who are under water in their homes get above water,” Donovan said in an exclusive interview taped for CNN’s “State of the Union with Candy Crowley” on Sunday. “And second, we’re launching an emergency homeowners’ loan program for unemployed borrowers to be able to stay in their homes.”

The swift action being pushed by President Obama’s housing chief come in response to awful news in the housing industry this week, starting with Tuesday’s revelation that existing home sales hit their lowest level in over a decade, declining by over 27 percent during the month.

Then on Wednesday, new home sales took a beating, falling to its lowest point since 1963, despite the fact that Donovan claimed in May that the housing market “has begun to turn the corner” and then said earlier this month that the market is in “significantly better shape than anyone predicted” last year.