Daily Dose

In a report on Wednesday, the Commerce Department estimated construction spending for the month of August was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $961.0 billion, a decrease of 0.8 percent from July’s revised estimate of $968.8 billion. The drop included a 0.1 percent falloff in private homebuilding from July, though the much smaller public residential construction category saw a 3.3 percent increase.

In a report earlier this week, online listings site Realtor.com observed a largely steady trend line in housing market indicators in August, with prices leveling out from month to month and limited inventory dipping slightly. Demand was most evident among the country's millennial population. However, with relatively few homes on the market, prices pushing upward, and lending standards still tight, few in that group have been able to make the jump to homeownership.

In a recent analysis released by Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA), senior managing director Christopher Whalen predicts many metros around the country will see home price appreciation switch to a much slower track—or even decline modestly, in some cases—as the factors directing the momentum of the last few years diminish and fundamental drivers start playing a bigger role.

Compared to August, loan application volumes were down 1 percent in September, macroeconomic research firm Capital Economics reported Wednesday. The decline came even as mortgage rates hovered at an average 4.32 percent for 30-year fixed-rate loans, slightly above August's average and within the 10-basis-point range interest rates have occupied since May.

Speaking at the 56th annual meeting of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) on Monday, Treasury Deputy Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin said she does not see the nation's growing problem of student loan debt leading to an economic meltdown—and student loan debt may not be affecting a borrower's ability to buy a home, depending on that borrower's financial situation.

The Warren Group reported Tuesday stating that 2,735 single-family homes were sold in Connecticut in August, a decline from 2,898 in August 2013. It was the third month in 2014 in which single-family home sales declined year-over-year in Connecticut, according to the Warren report.

The Conference Board reported a drop of nearly eight points in its monthly measure of consumer sentiment, putting the group's index at 86 from August's upwardly revised reading of 93.4. Economists had expected a slight nudge upward to 92.5 from an originally reported 92.4 the previous month.

Experian estimates new mortgage origination volumes totaled $292 billion for the months of April through June, reflecting a 15 percent increase from a slow first quarter. Home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) led in gains for the quarter, totaling $35 billion—up 25 percent over the same period last year. Over the last 12 months, HELOC originations totaled $120 billion, marking a 27 percent increase from the prior period.

Including seasonal factors, the S&P/Case-Shiller 10- and 20-city indices both posted a 0.5 percent decline from June to July, S&P Dow Jones Indices reported. Those losses compare to declines of 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, from May to June. The National Index, recently added as a monthly (rather than quarterly) measure, inched up a meager 0.2 percent, a step up from its 0.1 percent drop in June.

Government-sponsored enterprise Fannie Mae recently confirmed two high-level personnel changes within the organization. Leslie Peeler, SVP in charge of Fannie Mae's National Servicing Organization, is leaving the GSE for a senior position with IBM's mortgage group. Last week, the GSE also confirmed the departure of COO Terry Edwards, scheduled for early 2015.