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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.

Consulting and analytics firm NewOak announced the addition of a new senior member to its team of leaders. Triet M. Nguyen has been appointed as managing director of the company's Corporate and Municipal Credit Solutions Group.

News Corp, one of the world's biggest mass media companies, is buying online real estate firm Move, Inc., in a $950 million cash deal, the companies announced Tuesday morning.

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.

AEI's National Mortgage Risk Index measured 11.3 percent last month, little changed from July's index, the group said. As a stress test, the index measures the percentage of loans that would be at risk of turning sour in the event of an economic downturn. Though the index has come down in recent months, it remains nearly twice the acceptable level "conducive to a stable market," AEI said.

​Refinance activity remained more or less level from June to July, though interest in the government's Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) continued to dwindle, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported. The falloff in HARP refinancing continues even as the government works to revitalize the program.