Requests for refinancings accounted for 77 percent of all mortgage applications In a Jan. 4 white paper, the Federal Reserve described "extraordinary problems plaguing the housing market," including an excess supply of vacant homes, tight mortgage credit, and the costs of an "unwieldy and inefficient" foreclosure process. "The significant tightening in household access to mortgage credit likely reflects not only a correction of the unsound underwriting practices that emerged over the past decade, but also a more substantial shift in lenders' and (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's) willingness to bear risk," the Fed warned. Inman News columnist Jack Guttentag says that the Fed "shares the consensus view of informed observers that housing recovery has been hampered by excessively restrictive lending standards set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac."