Housing and Urban Development

The deadline for distressed homeowners to apply for a government mortgage aid program has been extended through Wednesday. The Emergency Homeowner's Loan Program offers up to $50,000 in interest-free loans to qualified homeowners to help pay their mortgage for up to two years.

The housing crisis continues unabated, and millions of unemployed Americans remain at risk of ending up homeless. But additional government help is arriving from the Obama administration, and nonprofit agencies are making a difference in the efforts of some families to get help from their lenders.

U.S. housing starts unexpectedly plunged 11.7% in October to a 519,000-unit annual rate, weighed down by a 47.5% decline in apartment and condo construction. But building permits, a leading indicator of future housing construction, did inch 0.5% higher last month.

Carl Greene ran the Philadelphia Housing Authority for years with little oversight, until recent revelations about a series of scandals from sexual harassment to financial mismanagement landed him in hot water. But Greene's misdeeds may be just a symptom of the problematic culture of U.S. housing authorities.

Fewer Americans received home-loan modifications under the Obama administration's program to reduce foreclosures and delinquencies. More owners with modifications flunked out.

The Obama administration acknowledged Tuesday that major changes must be made to the two mortgage giants being kept afloat thanks to taxpayer billions, but it sees continued government support. Is that a good idea?