The National Association of Realtors (NAR) submitted testimony to the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday in an effort to recommend heightened underwriting guidelines in the subprime lending sector.

Tighter lending standards prompted the National Association of Realtors (NAR) on Tuesday to forecast lower housing activity for the remainder of this year. In its latest report, NAR says existing home sales are likely to total 6.

_Bloomberg News _%{=font-style: normal;}says% shares of Countrywide Financial Corp.‘s stock climbed 7.2 percent on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index amidst speculation that the lender is the subject of a potential takeover or leveraged buyout.

An article published in the most recent edition of FinancialWeek is shedding some light on how executives at Irvine, California-based New Century Financial Corp. managed to generate excessive earnings for themselves while also maneuvering through the risky waters of the subprime market.

Sacramento, California-based ForeclosureS.com, a real estate investment advisory firm and publisher of foreclosure data, delivered a dose of positive news on Monday by reporting that foreclosures in April dropped 14.

Sacramento, California-based ForeclosureS.com, a real estate investment advisory firm and publisher of foreclosure data, delivered a dose of positive news on Monday by reporting that foreclosures in April dropped 14.

Famed investor Warren Buffet expressed a glass is half-full type of philosophy when discussing the subprime meltdown over the weekend, according to Reuters news agency. The news agency said Buffet believes the subprime crises will not pose a signficant threat to the overall economy especially if unemployment and interest rates remain steady.

Stewart Title of Colorado, a real estate information and transaction management company, announced the expansion of its operations in Colorado this week with the opening of the company’s Durango and Cortez divisions.

Embattled subprime lender New Century Financial Corp. announced on Thursday that its closing its subprime lending unit and cutting 2,000 jobs, according to a company spokesperson. The staff reductions will take effect immediately and involve employees who either work on the mortgage origination end of the business or provide corporate services for the company’s lending platform.

A mysterious fire with no apparent cause is enough to make a property seem like something out of a horror flick. But, four mysterious fires in the same place inside the same home is enough to make even the most seasoned REO broker wonder about his or her situation.