The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Builder Application Survey tumbled 9 percent month-over-month in August, according to the latest from the group. The anticipated decline follows a 2.4 percent drop in July new home sales as reported by the Commerce Department. According to initial estimates from the government, sales that month were at an adjusted annual pace of 412,000.

One of the country's top superregional banks announced a change at the top: Fifth Third Bancorp promoted regional president Michelle Van Dyke to president of Fifth Third Mortgage Company, effective immediately.

Home sales in Connecticut barely nudged up in July, marking the fifth annual increase in what has so far been a mild year for the state. According to data released this week by the Warren Group, single-family home sales in the Constitution State totaled an estimated 3,152 in July, an increase of 0.7 percent over the same month last year.

Applications for mortgage loans took a hard drop in September's first week, ending at their lowest level in nearly 14 years, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). MBA's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey showed loan applications fell 7.2 percent for the week ending September 5, declining to the lowest level since December 2000. The week's results include seasonal adjustments and an adjustment for the Labor Day holiday.

Financial regulators said Tuesday they hope to finish their work on a rule aimed at tightening mortgage standards and reducing risk by the end of this year. In a Senate Banking Committee hearing, FDIC chair Martin Gruenberg said his agency and others are "in the end game" of their work on a rule that would require mortgage-backed securities (MBS) issuers to hold a stake on packaged loans that don't meet certain exemption requirements.

The all-cash share of home sales dropped in June to its lowest level since the start of the financial crisis, CoreLogic reported Tuesday. In a post for the company's Insights Blog, senior economist Molly Boesel revealed that cash sales accounted for 33 percent of total transactions in June, down from 36.3 percent a year ago and the lowest share since September 2008.

A new survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco finds investors aren't buying in to the central bank's projections of interest rate increases in the coming years. The San Francisco Fed's report comes one week before the FOMC announces its next economic policy move—and before Fed Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to give her own hints at the central bank's timeline.

New Hampshire-based mortgage services provider Birchwood Credit Services announced the addition of John Shea of SVP of sales and marketing.

In survey findings released Monday, Better Homes and Gardens found that the current generation of teenagers—dubbed "Generation Z"—already values homeownership as the cornerstone of the American Dream, with 82 percent of teens surveyed saying it is the most important factor. Looking to their future, 97 percent of those surveyed said they believe they will own a home.

The Conference Board released Monday its Employment Trends Index (ETI) for August, reporting a slight increase from July to a reading of 121.29. "The strong increase in the Employment Trends Index in recent months signals robust job growth through the fall," said Gad Levanon, director of macroeconomic research at the Conference Board, adding that August's lower-than-expected employment numbers "seem to be a one-month deviation from a stronger trend."