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Examines how U.S. lenders, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have changed their approach towards people who fall behind on mortgage payments. Decision to reduce the rate at which they repossessed homes; Replacement of foreclosure with altered loan payment schedules; View that the risk is paying off as the economy recovers; Avoidance of large losses; Consequences of the policy shift for individuals.

Discusses a trend of customization in mortgage lending in the United States. Multitude of mortgage options available to home buyers; Reasons for this trend, including a cash surplus among banks; Low home equity lines of credit offered by some banks; Risks and benefits of variable loans and lines of credit; Example of a mortgage-seeking couple. INSET: The Finer Points.

Reports on the decline in the average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages in the United States in April 2000. Average initial rate being asked by lenders on one-year adjustable rate mortgages.

Reports on the decline in the average interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages in the first week of November 1999. Percent decline in the mortgage rate; Rate of fifteen-year mortgages and one-year adjustable-rate mortgages.

Reports the increase of benchmark home mortgage rate in the United States as of August 1999. Percentage of the increase reported.

Reports that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will raise their price limits for single-family mortgages in the United States in 2000. Percent increase in mortgage prices; How the increased limits could help more people obtain mortgages; Estimated mortgage price for two-family properties and three-family properties.

Reports on a fall in the thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages in the United States. Details of a report released by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.

Reports that mortgage rates in the United States continued to fall in 1996 giving home buyers the purchasing power according to the National Association of Realtors. Purchase of homes; Increase in the association's housing affordability index.