Hi, everybody.In recent weeks, you might have noticed something.Or maybe even heard the sound of it if you live close enough.New homes are going up.In fact, construction workers are breaking ground on new homes in America at the fastest pace in more than four years.At the same time, more homes are being sold.Home values are back on the rise.And foreclosure filings are at their lowest point in the five years since the housing bubble burst and left millions of responsible families holding the bag.Now, we're not where we need to be yet.Too many homes are still underwater.Too many families are still having a hard time making the mortgage on their piece of the American Dream.But one of the heaviest drags on our recovery is getting lighter.Now we have to build on the progress we've made, and keep moving forward.I never believed that the best way to deal with the housing market was to just sit back, do nothing, and simply wait for things to hit bottom.That would have been a disaster for all the responsible families who―through no fault of their own―were struggling to make ends meet.Instead, I've made helping those homeowners a priority.Since I took office, my Administration has taken action to help millions of families stay in their homes.We teamed up with attorneys general in almost every state to investigate and crack down on the practices that caused this mess.And in the end, we secured a $25 billion settlement from the biggest banks―one of the biggest settlements in history―and used it to provide relief to families all across America.We've taken action to help responsible homeowners refinance their mortgages.
