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But the foreclosure crisis that began in 2007 is not yet over and declaring Mission Accomplished

prematurely could once again be a very bad idea. In the first half of this year, more than a million

foreclosure filings have been issued with an additional one million likely by year's end.

And in spite of the recent gains in home prices, they remain down by more than 30 percent and

homeowners continue to hold $700 billion of mortgage debt that exceeds the value of their homes.

As a result, its important for federal policy makers to continue to pursue foreclosure mitigation efforts

including reducing the outstanding principal on homes for borrowers whose mortgages greatly

exceeds the value of their homes.

Earlier this year, President Obama made receiving principal reductions on loans held by Fannie Mae

and Freddie Mac more cost effective for taxpayers. But the director of the Federal Housing Finance

Authority (FHFA), Ed DeMarco, objected to allowing these two housing finance giants to provide

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principal reductions to borrowers whose mortgages are significantly upside down and who are at risk

of losing their homes to foreclosure. Why Mr. DeMarco is opposed to allowing underwater

borrowers in financial distress to reduce the outstanding principal on their homes is unclear. His

reasons keep changing, but the rationale doesnt add up. His first objection was that principal write-

downs would cost the taxpayers money. But a closer look at FHFAs own analysis revealed that

providing principal reductions would help a nearly half million homeowners at a net savings of $1

billion.

Next, Mr. Demarco suggested principal reductions would encourage homeowners to default on their

mortgages in order to receive a reduction on their outstanding loan balances. But theres little

chance of that occurring since the program would be restricted to borrowers who are experiencing

financial hardship and are at imminent risk of default. In fact, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy

Geithner urged Mr. Demarco to support principal reduction, citing a recent study that found little

evidence of borrowers strategically defaulting.

In fact, in spite of Mr. DeMarcos inability to conceptualize an effective principal reduction program,

one lender, Ocwen Financial Corp., accomplishes principal write-downs every day that that is

economically beneficial to both investors and borrowers. Take, for example, a borrower in Duluth,

GA, whose income had declined and whose home was worth $88,000 less than the mortgage owed

of $140,000. Ocwen reduced the loan principal to $83,600 and the interest rate from 4.375% to

2.375%. The result--a one-third reduction in the monthly mortgage payment -- from $985 to $630.

Such principal reduction programs can keep underwater homeowners in financial distress from

drowning in debt. Principal reduction can also be a lifesaver for a struggling housing market and

lagging economy.

The bottom line is that assisting families to keep their homes is a win-win for all homeowners since

averting foreclosures will help the housing market get back on track. Moreover, the FHFA can

ensure an even more positive return to directly to taxpayers by letting Fannie and Freddie share

some portion of future home price appreciation on properties that are granted principal reductions.

Principal reduction is not a silver bullet. But with unnecessary foreclosures hurting families,

communities and the entire economy, we need to use every tool at our disposal to fix this problem. In

his letter to Mr. DeMarco, Secretary Geithner said limiting costs to taxpayers is only part of the

FHFAs mission. Just as important is promoting liquid, efficient, competitive, and resilient housingfinance markets.

The current condition of the housing market is proof that the FHFAs second mandate also demands

greater attention. That attention should include providing a lifeline to underwater homeowners. While

the recent stabilization of home prices is welcomed news, significant challenges for the housing

market remain ahead.

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Carr is an independent housing and finance consultant and Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Fellow

with the Insight Center for Community Economic Development. He is the former Chief Business

Officer for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, Executive Committee member for

Americans for Financial Reform and senior vice president for financial innovation, planning and

research for the Fannie Mae Foundation.