Daily Dose

Freddie Mac's Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi) rose 0.04 percent from May to June, ending the year's first half at a reading of 73. "As we see the economy slowly normalizing we're starting to see its effects in the housing market as well, albeit very slowly," said Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft. "The good news is the big housing markets, of which some were also the hardest hit, continue to improve."

Applications for mortgage loans increased last week, helped along by gains in both purchase and refinance loans. The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey shows loan application volumes rose a seasonally adjusted 2.8 percent for the week ending August 22, doubling the rate of growth recorded the previous week.

The Federal Housing Administration announced revisions to rules surrounding post-payment interest charges and adjustable rate notifications. "Together, these new rules are responsive to the regulations implementing the Truth-in-Lending Act (Regulation Z) as revised last year by the CFPB," the agency said in a release.

According to Zillow's latest Negative Equity Report, high negative equity among Gen-X homeowners is causing gridlock in the U.S. housing market. Nearly 43 percent of homeowners between 35 and 49 are underwater on their mortgages. In contrast, only 15 percent of millennial homeowners (those between 20 and 34 years old) and 31 percent of baby boomers (50 to 64 years old) are underwater.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Tuesday that independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks posted a net profit of $954 on each loan originated in the year's second quarter. The report represents a significant turnaround from the first quarter, when mortgage banks took a net loss of $194 for each loan.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index climbed 2.1 points to 92.4 in the group's August reading, marking the highest level of confidence since October 2007. August's increase was driven by an increase in Conference Board's measure of current economic sentiment, which grew to 94.6 from 87.9 in July. Most of that was spurred by more promising reports over the spring and summer as business and labor market indicators improved.

The S&P/Case-Shiller National Price Index gained 6.2 percent annually in June, according to a report released Tuesday from S&P Dow Jones Indices. That figure was down from a yearly increase of 7.1 percent in May. The narrower 10- and 20-city composite indices each gained 8.1 percent compared to May's improvements of 9.4 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively.

As the rest of the housing market struggled in the year's first half, so too did the title insurance industry, Fitch Ratings reported in a new analysis. Isolating business at the nation's four largest title insurers, analysts at Fitch calculated a combined 12 percent decline in operating revenues through the first six months of 2014 compared to the same period last year.

Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay $3.15 billion to settle a lawsuit filed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) over faulty RMBS. Under the terms of the settlement, Goldman Sachs will pay $2.15 billion to Freddie Mac and about $1 billion to Fannie Mae to buy back the alleged faulty RMBS the two GSEs purchased between 2005 and 2007. FHFA estimates the worth of the settlement to be about $1.2 billion due to the bonds' current value.

Loan risk in the mortgage market slid down again in July but remained far above safe levels, according to the latest measure from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). The group reported that 11.41 percent of home purchase loans measured in its National Mortgage Risk Index (NMRI) would be at serious risk under "severely stressed" economic conditions.