WASHINGTON - More than a half-million U.S. households got mortgage assistance in the first three months of 2008, though most of the help was temporary, a mortgage industry group said.

Statistics released Monday by Hope Now, a Bush administration-organized effort to help at-risk borrowers, show that nearly 503,000 borrowers received some form of loan workout in the first quarter.

Consumer advocates say permanent loan modifications, in which a lender agrees to reduce the interest rate or make other changes to home loans, are the best way to help borrowers.

Under pressure from lawmakers and federal officials to provide more help to troubled borrowers, the industry has stepped up the pace of loan modifications in recent months. They made up 36 percent of total workouts in the first quarter of 2008, up from 19 percent in the third quarter of 2007.

"While there is still more work to be done, concrete progress is being made," Faith Schwartz, Hope Now's executive director, said in a statement.

Hope Now says 1.38 million homeowners have received loan workouts since July. Of those, 29 percent were permanent modifications.

Critics, including consumer advocates and attorneys general in many states, say the group' s efforts still fall short. A report released last week found that 70 percent of homeowners who are two months behind on their mortgages aren't getting help.

Of those borrowers receiving help, only one in three completed a workout within 45 days, the State Foreclosure Prevention Working Group found in its survey of mortgage servicers.

Members of Hope Now include Bank of America Corp., Citigroup, Washington Mutual and Wells Fargo & Co.