Daily Dose

Bank of Americaposted second-quarter net income of $2.3 billion on revenue of $22.0 billion. A year ago, the megabank reported bringing $4.0 billion. The bulk of the year-over-year drop in profits stemmed from a $4.0 billion litigation expense, "substantially all" of which was related to legacy mortgage-related matters, the bank said.

The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Housing Market Index (HMI) registered a score of 53 in the group's July survey, increasing four points from June. "This is the first time that builder confidence has been above 50 since January and an important sign that it is strengthening as pent-up demand brings more buyers into the marketplace," said NAHB Chair Kevin Kelly.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), total mortgage loan application volumes decreased 3.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending July 11. Breaking down the overall decline, the refinance component of MBA's market index fell 0.1 percent week-over-week, putting a dent in the 0.4 percent rise reported at the start of July. Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted measure of purchase applications fell 8 percent.

In a testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen made the case that while the economy has seen improvement, the economic recovery is still too fragile to deviate from the present course of Fed policy. Notably, Yellen noted the recent cooling in housing as a sign.

In a report released Tuesday, market research firm ORC International revealed 59 percent of investors are interested in dipping their toes into SFR properties, citing the associated tax benefits and the potential for higher cash flows than traditional fixed-income products. At the same time, without the same resources institutional investors have, the majority of individuals surveyed said they would need outside help.

According to CoreLogic senior economist Molly Boesel, cash sales accounted for 36.8 percent of total home sales in April, down from 38.5 percent in March and 40.1 percent in April 2014. The percentage of cash sales as a share of total transactions averaged approximately 25 percent prior to the housing crisis, Boesel said. It peaked in January 2011 at 46.2 percent.

Over the 12-month period ending in June 2015, nearly 20 percent of the more than 340 markets covered in Veros Real Estate Solutions' quarterly VeroFORECAST are expected to experience a decline in home prices, the company said Tuesday. While that leaves 80 percent of the country on an upward growth path, "all but the most upbeat markets are slowing in their value improvements," Veros said in its third-quarter update.

Second-quarter profits at JPMorgan Chase dipped nearly 8 percent year-over-year as the bank continued to work with a diminished mortgage market. JPMorgan's latest earnings report, released Tuesday, shows the megabank earned $6.0 billion in profits over the latest three months, putting its performance somewhere between the $5.3 billion reported in the first quarter and $6.5 billion a year ago.

On the heels of the government's $7 billion settlement with Citigroup over toxic residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), leaders at the Department of Justice revealed Monday there may be similar settlements or lawsuits on the way. The comments take on deeper meaning in the context of the government's ongoing dealings with Bank of America, which was reportedly close to reaching a settlement on its own MBS case until negotiations stalled.

Like much of the country, Pennsylvania's housing market showed a little more life in the second quarter than in the first, though activity fell short of last year. "We're seeing some pockets of the state with positive growth, while others are a little more lackluster," said Kim Skumanick, president of the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors.