While the HARP provides a mechanism for some homeowners to take advantage of the current, very low interest rates on home mortgages, it leaves entire communities out by limiting this assistance to loans within the current Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac loan limits.
I can think of several communities where the median price of a single-family home far exceeded those limits even as far back as 2000. Owners of these properties are no different than those living in less expensive towns but are trapped in higher rate loans simply because the HARP is capped by those loan limits. Essentially the cost of a jumbo loan has gone from about 0.5% to nearly 5%.
If the housing markets are going to be stabilized across the country, the problem of trapped homeowners throughout the nation must be addressed.