Apparently, the government has underestimated the number of struggling homeowners that it has failed to help under its Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

The Department of Treasury admitted that the number of homeowners who re-defaulted on their loans despite having mortgage modifications is considerably higher than the figure reported earlier. Officials said about 14.9% of the 4,764 borrowers who have had a permanent modification for at least nine months by the end of May are seriously behind their payments. The re-default rate is more than six times the 2.4% rate the department reported last month.

For loans that had been permanently modified for at least six months, some 6.1% of homeowners had re-defaulted, up from the previous estimate of 1.7%. On the other hand, about 10.1% of borrowers who had their loans permanently modified for at least half a year were 60 days or more behind on their payments. Earlier, Treasury officials reported the figure to be at 5.9%

The Treasury department blamed the oversight to the Federal National Mortgage Association, or Fannie Mae. The government-sponsored enterprise is the one that manages the $50-Billion HAMP, which was the brainchild of President Barack Obama.

In response, Fannie Mae spokesman Brian Faith said the mortgage giant has now corrected the data and has validated the revisions with the help of an independent third-party consulted hired by the company’s Internal Audit Group.

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