2 new programs planned to help homeowners

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration's top housing official says several new programs are in the works to help try to revive the housing market.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said in an interview aired Sunday that his department in the coming weeks will roll out an FHA refinancing program to help borrowers whose mortgages exceed the market value of their homes. He also said the department will launch "an emergency homeowners loan program" to help people who are unemployed keep their homes.

Donovan, on CNN's "State of the Union," said a drop in July home sales was expected with the end of the housing tax credit, but that the decline was "clearly worse than we expected." He said "it's too early to say" if the credit will be revived.