<div id="subtitle">Backlog of foreclosures estimated at 1.7 million, likely to hold back home prices, report says</div><div><p>About 1.7 million homeowners were on the verge of foreclosure in the fall, a looming "shadow inventory" of homes ...

<div><h1> HOUSING: GUESS WHO'S PLAYING WATCHDOG </h1><p>Home appraisers played one of the less well-known roles in pumping up home values and contributing to the current financial crisis. Retained by lenders or brokers, they frequently colluded--explicitly or tacitly--in overestimating ...

<div><p>The Wild West environment in real estate lending provided a perfect opportunity for some fast-moving fraudsters. In the time it took for banks to do the necessary title search on a property--roughly two weeks--scammers sometimes hit up other banks for more money. Cheaters took ...