Wells Fargo is reportedly looking to return to the subprime market by bringing in customers with credit scores as low as 600, according to Reuters. Lenders venturing back into the high-risk loans market are even using a subtle marketing trick to assuage fear and spur demand—subprime loans become "another chance mortgages" or "alternative mortgages," shedding the stigmatized "subprime" label, the report says.

The nation's second largest lender is reportedly cutting 450 jobs in its West Coast offices, according to Bloomberg. ""These notifications have been ongoing and reflect our previously announced efforts to reduce our size, resolve legacy issues and simplify our company,"" said Dan Frahm, a spokesman for Bank of America. The lender is still hiring in non-mortgage areas, and some employees will find jobs in other parts of the firm, he said.

A recently released audit of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's handling of aged repurchase demands finds the enterprises' fee collecting has been inconsistent--or in some cases nonexistent. ""By inconsistently waiving, enforcing, and excepting late fees through 2012, the Enterprise missed assessing up to $284 million in late fees that are now unlikely to be collected–losses that taxpayers ultimately bore,"" the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Office of the Inspector General (FHFAOIG) commented in the report.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released its latest quarterly reports Tuesday, highlighting deteriorating conditions for housing affordability as prices keep trending upward. The national median existing single-family home price was $196,900 in the fourth quarter, up 10.1 percent from $178,900 in the fourth quarter of 2012. As ever, the association says the increase was driven by a tight supply of existing homes and a decline in production of new houses.

Approximately 40 to 50 percent of mortgage borrowers say that they have not refinanced the mortgage on their current home, according to Fannie Mae's Housing Survey data collected through June 2013. With interest rates still at historical lows and rising home prices pushing down affordability levels, Fannie Mae's senior manager of business strategy has one question: Why aren't more people refinancing, and what can the industry do to encourage more activity?

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) revealed in its latest refinance report that the GSEs have together reached a landmark three million refinances under HARP.

The Five Star Institute announced Monday the formation of the National Appraisal Congress (NAC). In response to a developing need for thought leadership and the promotion of best practices and execution, the NAC will serve as a collection of subject matter experts to foster collaboration in the real estate appraisal industry. Jordan Petkovski, a veteran of the residential appraisal industry of more than 15 years, was named the committee's chairman.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) unveiled a new tool Friday aimed at making Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data more user-friendly.

A recently announced deal between Ocwen and Wells Fargo on $39 billion in mortgage servicing rights has been halted by the New York Department of Financial Services amid investigations of alleged abusive behavior toward borrowers. Ocwen announced Thursday the indefinite hold on the deal by the New York Department of Financial Services headed by Benjamin Lawsky. In its release, Ocwen pledged to work with the regulator to resolve concerns about its servicing portfolio growth.

As of February, 58 out of approximately 350 metro areas nationwide have either returned to or exceeded their last ""normal"" levels of economic and housing activity.