Editorial Board

States Steal Federal Foreclosure Funds at Their Own Peril

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The U.S. housing market is showing tentative signs of life as demand for new homes and housing prices begin to rise in some areas.

Yet pitfalls remain, including about 12 million borrowers who still owe more on their “underwater” mortgages than their homes are worth. To help some of those people, the recent $25 billion national mortgage settlement required five large banks to pay states $2.5 billion for foreclosure prevention and other housing-related efforts.