The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Thursday that it is extending the Home Affordable Refinance Program(HARP) through the end of 2018. The program was set to expire Sept. 30.

HARP was initiated in 2009 to help underwater and near-underwater homeowners refinance their mortgage. Since then, the plan has been extended past its intended expiration several times. In 2015, it was extended to the end of 2016. In 2016 – despite FHFA Director Mel Watt’s warning that the program wouldn’t last forever – it was extended until Sept. 30, 2017, in order to serve as a “bridge” to a new refinance program the FHFA planned to launch in October of 2017.

According to the FHFA, HARP is being extended again because of modifications to its High LTV Streamlined Refinance Program, which was created for borrowers who are current on their mortgage but unable to refinance because their loans’ LTV ratios exceed the maximum limits of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The FHFA said it was extending HARP to “ensure that high LTV borrowers who are eligible for HARP continue to have a refinance option.”

“More than 143,000 homeowners could still benefit from refinancing through HARP,” the FHFA said.

You can continue reading more about the extension here. 

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