Bernanke’s housing efforts fall short

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s efforts to bring down borrowing costs to revive the housing market and help the economy are stalling. Mortgage rates have risen almost to where they were in March before the 30-year rate fell to a record low and sparked a refinancing boom. According to Bankrate.com, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 5.27 percent yesterday. During the first quarter, mortgage delinquencies rose to a record 9.12 percent of U.S. home loans, and home prices dropped. “Housing is not going to be the engine to get us out of this recession,” said Robert Eisenbeis, former research director at the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta.