The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced on April 11 that the Home Affordable Refinancing Program (HARP) will be extended through 2015. It was previously scheduled to expire at the end of this year.
HARP is an important tool for preventing foreclosures and reducing housing cost burdens for underwater homeowners. These homeowners could not otherwise take advantage of low interest rates because their loan exceeded the market value of their home. As of the March 2013 Housing Scorecard, there had been well over 2 million refinancing under HARP since the program began in April 2009.