Well, at least there are plenty of people thinking of ways to ease the housing/foreclosure crisis. This past week, representatives of the National Association of Homebuilders were in Washington, DC pressing for passage of a bill they wrote that would, if passed, help straighten out the housing market. Titled "Fix Housing First", it would have the federal government provide fixed rate mortgages at rates not seen for over fifty years.
The bill would have the feds provide federally-subsidized mortgages of 30 years at a fixed interest rate of 2.99% on all home purchases, regardless if the home were new or a resale. The purchase and its related loan would have to close by June 30 of this year. If it did not close by then, the fixed rate would be a still spectacularly low 3.99% for the same loan, as long as it closed by the end of the year.
I don't think these rates are likely under a federal subsidy due to the sheer amount of money the government would have to front. However, had you asked me last June about some of the bailout numbers currently bouncing around, I also would have been very skeptical then too. So, it will all come down to what the new administration, working with Congress decides is a reasonable number, given the severity of the economy in general and the housing market in particular.
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