Faced with sluggish progress in its foreclosure-prevention effort, the Obama administration will spend the coming weeks cracking down on mortgage companies that aren't doing enough to help borrowers at risk of losing their homes.

While not recommending that homeowners forgo their responsibilities, Professor Brent White told CNBC  that there is a different set of rules for the businesses and homeowners.

The US Treasury announced plans to push lenders to modify more loans after the administration's $75 billion housing rescue plan, called Making Home Affordable, fell short and foreclosures continued rising.

With the foreclosure crisis showing no signs of relenting, the Obama administration plans to expand a program aimed at helping people remain in their homes.

The U.S. central bank is going to the Big Screen to counsel consumers about how to use their credit cards wisely during the holiday shopping season.

A Suffolk judge cancelled $525,000 in mortgage payments being demanded by California bank OneWest and its IndyMac mortgage division, criticizing its "harsh, repugnant, shocking and repulsive" behavior, the New York Post reported Wednesday.

Rates on 30-year mortgages dropped in the past week to match a record low set in April, while the 15-year home loan rate fell to a new all-time low, home funding company Freddie Mac said on Wednesday

Sales of new homes rose last month to the highest level in more than a year as strong activity in the South made up for weakness in the rest of the country.

Demand for U.S. home loans slipped last week even as mortgage rates hovered near record lows, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

Sales of new homes are expected to post a modest increase in October, reinforcing data this week that showed the real estate market is regaining its footing after a dramatic collapse.

Big banks are roaring back. At crisis' edge last year, they are repaying billions of dollars dumped into their vaults to rescue them. Dividend checks are accumulating at the Treasury. Taxpayers won't recoup the full sum of the government's unprecedented infusion to the financial sector, but the returns are ahead of schedule.

Sales of previously owned homes jumped in October to the highest level in more than 2-1/2 years as buyers rushed to take advantage of a popular tax credit, a survey showed.

D.R. Horton, the No. 2 U.S. homebuilder, reported a much larger-than-expected quarterly loss on Friday, sending its shares down nearly 7 percent even though it also said orders increased.

Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to their lowest levels since May, Freddie Mac reported on Thursday.

Rising U.S. unemployment propelled more mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures, a trend that will continue into next year, the MBA said.