South By North Strategies, Ltd.

On a recent episode of the PBS NewsHour, Elizabeth Warren, chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel, discussed the inadequacy of federal policies aimed at reducing home foreclosures.

On a related note, last week the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released its first monthly housing scorecard. The data in this report, coupled with market data released last week, have prompted a number of critical analyses of the various mortgage modification programs programs and the homebuyer tax credit.

The general consensus is that the homebuyer credit was an ineffective, expensive program while the foreclosure programs are not reaching people who could benefit. Explains Free Exchange:

There is little mystery to what’s happening. Inventory levels remain high because of overbuilding and months’ worth of record foreclosure levels. Millions of homeowners are underwater while the unemployment rate remains near 10%. The tax credit changed none of those fundamentals. And Americans are now left wondering when housing’s second dip will find its bottom and real recovery begin.