HARP 2.0 refinancings are red hot in both Florida and Nevada, according to testimony presented this week by HUD secretary Shaun Donovan.
The HARP 2.0 program became fully operational in early March. “We have seen big jumps in refinancings in states with the most underwater borrowers,” Donovan said. “In Florida we have seen a 50% increase in refinancings in the last few months.”
He also noted HARP refis are up 70% in Nevada.
Donovan told senators this week that the Obama administration supports a Senate bill that would further enhance the HARP 2.0 program which caters to underwater borrowers. The bill—sponsored by Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J.—would further reduce barriers to refinancing underwater borrowers but also would cater to borrowers with equity.
In testimony before a Senate panel late this week the HUD chief said improvement to HARP could help millions of homeowners who have positive equity but are still locked out of refinancing. “It is a critically important bill,” Donovan said. (See related story on this website.)
