Reaction to President Obama's Housing Relief Plan

Local housing officials say President Obama's 75-billion-dollar mortgage relief plan is a win for the industry.

Under President Barack Obama's 75–billiion dollar housing relief plan incentive payments will be made available to mortgage lenders to try and prevent foreclosure for up to 4–million people. This can be done at no more than 31 percent of the homeowner's income. "If we act boldly and swiftly to arrest this downward spiral then every American will benefit," the president said after signing the bill in Phoenix, Arizona, Wednesday. Help is also available for borrowers who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are currently worth. Paul Heuerman of Heritage Bank in Peoria Heights,says any kind of relief like that will only help. "These are interesting concepts. Some of them could be beneficial. The guarantee portion of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and what they were talking about, raising that," he said. Heuerman says without many details it's still too early to determine what impact the president's plan will have. Pat McCarthy is president of the Peoria Area Association of Realtors. He says despite fewer foreclosures in Central Illinois compared to other states...the assistance will revitalize what's been a steady local housing market. "This past year foreclosures were actually down compared to the year before. The nice thing that I’ve seen in this plan is they’re getting the lenders involved. There’s incentives for the lenders to actually contact people that are getting close to foreclosure," McCarthy said. According to Yahoo's real estate website there are currently 260 foreclosure properties in Peoria. With recent news of more local layoffs housing officials say the president's relief plan comes at a critical time.