baltimoresun.com

« What costs more: Living in the city or the 'burbs? | Main | U.S. home sales fall »

July 24, 2008

Housing bill, by the numbers

The House bill intended to deal with the increasing ripples of the housing slump, passed yesterday, includes:

--$4 billion for buying and improving abandoned properties

--$15 billion in tax breaks, including the much-discussed credit of up to $7,500 for first-time buyers

--plans to insure new loans totaling as much as $300 billion for homeowners in trouble

--a permanent increase (to $625,500) to the limit on the size of mortgages that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can purchase or guarantee

--no cap on the amount of money the Treasury Department can extend to Fannie and Freddie via a line of credit

--the creation of a new oversight agency for Fannie and Freddie, called the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which could put a lid on the multi-million-dollar executive compensation there

Want more details? See the AP story HERE and The Wall Street Journal story HERE.

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 10:03 AM | | Comments (0)
        

Post a comment

All comments must be approved by the blog author. Name-calling aimed at other commenters is not welcome here. Please do not resubmit comments if they do not immediately appear. You are not required to use your full name when posting, but you should use a real e-mail address. Comments may be republished in print, but we will not publish your e-mail address. Our full Terms of Service are available here.

Verification (needed to reduce spam):

About Jamie Smith Hopkins
Jamie Smith Hopkins, a Baltimore Sun reporter since 1999, writes about the regional economy. Her reporting on the housing market has won national and local awards. Hopkins is a Columbia native and has lived in Maryland all her life, save for 10 months spent covering schools in Ames, Iowa.
She trained to become a wonk by spending large chunks of time as a geek and an insufferable know-it-all.
Baltimore Sun articles by Jamie
-- ADVERTISEMENT --

Most Recent Comments
Baltimore Sun coverage
Baltimore Sun Real Estate section
Archive: Dream Home
Dream Home takes readers into the houses of area residents who have found their ideal home.
Sign up for FREE business alerts
Get free Sun alerts sent to your mobile phone.*
Get free Baltimore Sun mobile alerts
Sign up for Business text alerts

Returning user? Update preferences.
Sign up for more Sun text alerts
*Standard message and data rates apply. Click here for Frequently Asked Questions.
  • Sign up for the At Home newsletter
The home and garden newsletter includes design tips and trends, gardening coverage, ideas for DIY projects and more.
See a sample | Sign up

Charm City Current
Categories
Stay connected