Housing Help

In response to “Housing Relief With the Two-Step,� editorial, March 7:

Fannie Mae’s new two-step mortgage, ostensibly created to help first-time home buyers qualify for a loan, does virtually nothing to solve the high-price problems of our housing market.

It also sets up for a real debacle seven years from now when the new interest rates are incorporated.

I would suggest that the new loan might even exacerbate the high-price problem.

The real problem is high prices, not ease of financing. Too high is the percentage of our housing dollar that pays fees to ever-more numerous government agencies. I’ve heard estimates that 15-20% of a new home’s price is as a direct result of state, local or other agency fees and requirements. If we could get rid of a few of these, prices would be more reasonable, and the government wouldn’t have to subsidize financing.

I will believe something is being done as soon as our representatives and the housing industry start addressing the issue. Until then, houses will continue to get less affordable.

BARRICK A. SMART

Twin Peaks, Calif.