"Two years after the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) first made available up to $50 billion for the Making Home Affordable (MHA) program, foreclosure rates remain at historically high levels. Treasury recently introduced several new programs intended to further help homeowners. This report examines (1) the status of three of these new programs, (2) characteristics of homeowners with first-lien modifications from the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), and (3) the outcomes for borrowers who were denied or fell out of first-lien modifications. To address these questions, GAO analyzed data from Treasury and six large MHA servicers."

The U.S. Dept. of the Treasury (Treasury) continues to use funds under the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) authorized by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) to address weaknesses in the U.S. housing market that continue to hamper the economic recovery. Treasury announced in 2009 that up to $50 billion would be used to help as many as 3-4 million struggling homeowners avoid potential foreclosure, but subsequently reduced the amount to $38.5 billion. The cornerstone program under Treasury's Making Home Affordable (MHA) efforts is the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which provides financial incentives for borrowers, servicers, and mortgage holders/investors to modify first-lien mortgages. This examines (1) the status of TARP-funded housing programs; (2) Treasury's efforts to monitor and evaluate HAMP denial and redefault rates among servicers; and (3) the status of the implementation of GAO's prior recommendations related to TARP-funded housing programs. Tables and figures. This is a print on demand report.