Relief for Strained Mortgage Holders?

President Bush today announced modest steps to deal with an alarming rise in mortgage defaults that have contributed to turbulent financial markets in recent weeks.

One of the Bush proposals, which FHA officials said would take effect immediately, would allow an estimated 60,000 homeowners who have fallen behind on payments because their mortgages have reset, to refinance with FHA-insured loans. FHA does not now insure refinanced loans from borrowers who are currently delinquent.

"This means that many families who are struggling now will be able to refinance their loans, meet their monthly payments and keep their homes," Bush said.

Bush also said he would support legislation currently pending in Congress to temporarily change tax law to let homeowners avoid paying taxes on forgiven debt in loans being restructured by financial institutions.

Read the full transcript of Bush's remarks.

Double Your Income...

...or don't think about trying to buy a home in Tacoma.

The typical prospective first-time buyer in Pierce County had just 56.3 percent, or $37,928, of the $67,368 annual income needed to purchase a house in the second quarter of 2007. That means the person would need nearly twice as much income to afford the mortgage on a starter home, said Glenn Crellin, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at WSU. [The News Tribune]

The "good news" is that it's worse in Seattle.