HUD chief: Housing market is stabilizing

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan on Monday released a scorecard on the housing market showing that the sector has greatly improved. 

"There is no question that today's housing market is in significantly better shape than anyone predicted 18 months ago," he told reporters, adding, "Seventeen months after President Obama took office our housing market is stabilizing." 

To support the claim, the HUD chief released a scorecard on the housing market that showed after 30 straight months of decline, home prices have leveled off and are expected to begin adjusting upward. 

It also showed that since April 2009, 2.8 million homeowners have received restructured mortgages through Obama's loan modification programs, and more than 2.5 million families used the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit to purchase a home. The credit was a part of the first stimulus bill Obama signed into law shortly after taking office.  

The scorecard that was introduced Monday will be updated monthly to give consumers an ongoing snapshot of the housing market.

"This scorecard will allow the America people to monitor the administration's efforts to strengthen the housing market on a monthly basis and hold the government and industry accountable," Donovan said.