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Freddie Mac's Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi) slipped 0.19 percent from July to a reading of 73.3 in August, the company reported. With the drop, the index's three-month measure showed a 0.47 percent decline. Despite August's headline decline, analysts at Freddie Mac say the MiMi is showing promising trends, especially at the local level.

Out of hundreds of home sellers surveyed nationwide earlier this month, only 35.1 percent said now is a good time to sell a home in their neighborhood, according to the latest Real-Time Seller Survey from Redfin. The response reflects a decline of more than 17 percentage points from the second-quarter survey, which found more than half of sellers felt they had an advantage in the market.

The National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking gauge of home sales based on contract signings, ticked up 0.3 percent to 105 from August's 104.7, the group reported. Compared to a year ago, the index climbed 1 percent—the first yearly increase in 11 months.

Where the U.S. housing market is concerned, Fannie Mae chief economist Doug Duncan said he is anticipating weaker home sales in 2014 than in 2013—but 2015 looks better. Meanwhile, the slowdown in economic growth this year has not dimmed the outlook among Fannie Mae's economists.

After declining for most of the year thus far, the share of refinance loans experienced a 3 percentage point boost in September, according to the latest Origination Insight Report from Ellie Mae. At the same time, a lower percentage of loans made their way to closing in September compared with the month before, and the time it took to close those loans that did make their way through the approval process increased, according to Ellie Mae.

The Commerce Department and HUD estimate that new home sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 467,000 in September, according to a joint report from the agencies. September's sales rate marks a 0.2 percent increase over August's revised rate and a 17 percent jump above September 2013. New home sales in August, originally reported at an annual pace of 504,000, came down dramatically in the government's revised estimate.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported Thursday that U.S. house prices rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent month-over-month in August. On a year-over-year basis, FHFA's price index was up 4.8 percent, putting it roughly in line with its August 2005 level and 5.8 percent below its peak in April 2007.

RealtyTrac reported that 8.1 million U.S. homeowners, representing 15 percent of all mortgages in the country, were seriously underwater on their mortgage in Q3, the lowest percentage of underwater mortgages nationwide since RealtyTrac began tracking the data in Q1 2012.

Real estate data firm Zillow reported a 6.5 percent year-over-year gain in its Home Value Index for September, bringing the index up to $176,500. Zillow's chief economist, Dr. Stan Humphries, said the latest report comes as a relief compared to last year, when the market was experiencing unsustainable price growth that went well into the double digits in some areas.

HUD Secretary Julian Castro unveiled in a speech the points of the agency's "Blueprint for Access" meant to ease the risk of lending while expanding credit. "It's in our entire nation's interest to help more responsible Americans succeed in the housing market by expanding access to credit," Castro said.