If you believe the numbers, you might think that the $75 billion federal housing program announced in February is beginning to help some Valley of the Sun homeowners.

In a attempt to keep borrowers in their homes and continuing making their payments, housing counselors and mortgage brokers have started to see lenders adjust the interest rates and even principal on loans. Foreclosures fell across metro Phoenix in March to their lowest level in the past year. At the same time, more than 3,000 pending foreclosures were withdrawn.

Initially when the program was announced in February, the excitement of something being done about the crisis soon turned to confusion and questions as only a handful of lenders were following the outline of the program.

This initial confusion has turned to a better understanding of how the program works, who is eligible and what is needed from both the lender and borrower. The net result is fewer homes going into foreclosure and more people being able to work out a deal that will keep them in their current home.

Usually is very challenging for lenders to do loan modifications for large groups because they are based on each borrower’s individual situation. But the guidelines outlined in the plan appear to have helped speed up the foreclosure-prevention part of the housing program. There are still lenders are not participating in modifying the current loans outlined in the plan but have indicated that they will be soon.