My Real Estate Blog

In describing the strategy during a press conference in Phoenix, President Obama said the plan "will give millions of families resigned to financial ruin a chance to rebuild … prevent the worst consequences of this crisis from wreaking even greater havoc on the economy. And by bringing down the foreclosure rate, it will help to shore up housing prices for everyone."

A central element of the plan would allow up to 5 million people to refinance their mortgages into more affordable products through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to a summary of the plan.

A total cost of the effort wasn't immediately clear, though it could eclipse more than $275 billion because of new commitments to the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Obama administration's plan has three main elements: an effort to help homeowners refinance; an effort to help stabilize the housing market through a $75 billion initiative aimed at reaching up to 4 million at-risk homeowners; and an element that aims to drive down mortgage rates.