Goldstein says will take ‘some time’ for housing to recover

WASHINGTON - Jeffrey Goldstein, the U.S. Treasury Department’s undersecretary for domestic finance, said Friday that it will take “some time” for the housing market to recover from the market’s collapse.

The Obama administration is working on ways to reduce a wave of home foreclosures that has dragged down home prices and the economy, he said. The administration also is working with Congress to revamp mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Those efforts are aimed at preventing another financial crisis. “The housing market is still recovering from the enormous trauma that has left millions of families struggling to keep their homes,” Goldstein said. “Although there are some positive signs, new delinquencies, for one, have been on the decline, it will take some time before the aftereffects of the housing bubble are fully behind us,” he said.