The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), which was scheduled to end on June 10, 2010, has been extended to June 30, 2011, according to an announcement by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
The program was designed to help 5 million underwater homeowners refinance into a more manageable loan, but so far has helped approximately 200,000 struggling borrowers.
Since the program launched in spring of 2009, the HARP program expanded eligibility by increasing the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio to 125% from 105% to include more underwater borrowers. However, so far only an additional 1,923 borrowers with an LTV greater than 105% have been helped.
As of Dec. 31, 2009, 21.4 percent of all single-family homes were underwater (owing more on their mortgage than their home is worth), according to Zillow’s Q4 Real Estate Market Reports.
Learn more about HARP:
- Making Home Affordable Plan Expected to Help 4-5 Million Homeowners Refinance
- Am I eligible for a Home Affordable Refinance?