The Obama administration may soon adjust its mortgage modification program to assist low-income households, according to Bloomberg. The altered program would increase the number of borrowers who could qualify for a loan modification, by allowing those homeowners whose mortgage bills are 31 percent below their pretax incomes to restructure their debt. The changes would “expand the universe of those who are eligible to more of those who are in a position of needing government help to get through temporary stress,” Barbara Desoer, head of Bank of America’s home loan unit, said. This expansion is part of an effort to reduce the number of foreclosure filings in the residential market, as analysts warn that 7 million foreclosures are looming.

While rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have stayed steadily below 5 percent, and the volume of loan applications subsequently spiked by 16.4 percent during the week ending Oct. 2, analysts are now scrambling to determine how long rates will remain low. Barbara Desoer, Bank of America’s president of home loans, spoke with CNBC’s Diana Olick to discuss the future of mortgage rates. “I think [it] depends on what else is going on in the economic recovery and the status of the economy at that time and how much capital as a result of the recovery is willing to go back into the housing market,” Desoer said. “There is no doubt that rates are artificially low.” [more]