Daily Dose

Bank of America and the Justice Department are close to completing a long-rumored and record-setting deal to resolve allegations of misconduct sales of mortgage-backed securities that went bad, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

In its June National Housing Trend Report, Realtor.com reported the national housing market continued to gain some strength as summer got under way, though the rate of recovery dimmed somewhat. While current and seasonal trends would suggest home sales will see a slowdown in the coming months, national indicators are masking some of the activity happening in individual markets, says Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for Realtor.com.

Single-family home sales in the Constitution State totaled 2,799 in June, according to the Warren Group, marking a 5.8 percent increase from a year ago. It was the fourth time so far this year that home sales have performed better annually. Throughout the entire second quarter, sales totaled 6,679, down nearly 5 percent compared to the year-ago period.

According to data reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and compiled by Capital Economics, mortgage application volumes slipped an additional 3.4 percent in July following June's 0.1 percent decline. Declines were nearly even in both purchase loan volumes, which fell 3.6 percent, and refinances, which were down 3.3 percent.

Mortgage bankers group Lenders One released Tuesday the results of new study on loan officer retention conducted by Majestic Consulting. According to the results, most loan officers would be willing to leave a higher-paying position if they feel management at another company has a better grasp on fulfillment and business development.

As home prices continue to recover nationwide, a new study from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) suggests even a small increase in new home prices can leave hundreds of thousands of prospective buyers out in the cold.

The ability-to-repay and qualified mortgage (QM) rules that went into effect earlier this year are not having a significant impact on approvals of prime conforming residential mortgage loans, but they are impacting the jumbo and nontraditional loan markets, according to the July 2014 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices conducted by the Federal Reserve.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported a 0.5 percent increase in its Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) for the month of July, putting the index at 116.4. According to the group, the main force behind the increase was a rise in the number of jumbo adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) programs. Also contributing to the pickup was an increase in availability of high-balance FHA and VA loan programs.

In response to recent bearish housing outlooks, Altos Research recently released its own decidedly more positive forecast. "It's scary to be a contrarian, particularly if you're contrarian and bullish. In retrospect, this position is the most fun—if you're right," said Michael Simonsen, co-founder and CEO of Altos.

The Texas Association of Realtors released Friday its 2014-Q2 Texas Quarterly Housing Report, revealing a 5.9 percent quarterly pickup in home inventory to a months' supply of 3.60—level with where supply figures were at the end of 2013. Despite the quarter-over-quarter increase—the first since 2011, the association reports—inventory remained down 12.2 percent compared to a year ago, holding back growth in home sales.