Government

Loans refinanced through the Home Affordable Refinance Program held steady for the second quarter of 2015. According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Refinance Report, the total number of loans refinanced through HARP in the second quarter was nearly the same as the number recorded in first quarter.

While not as substantial as June's increase, Freddie Mac's total mortgage portfolio still expanded in July, this time at a compound annualized rate of 0.8 percent, according to Freddie Mac's July 2015 Monthly Volume Summary released on Wednesday.

As the housing market strengthens, many economists believe that it could withstand an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve this year, pending stabilization among home prices.

Multiple market indicators show solid strong stabilization within housing in June, mostly due to employment and current mortgages, according to Freddie Mac's Multi-Indicator Market Index. Housing markets are the strongest they have been since 2008, with the national MiMi surpassing 80 in June. Freddie Mac attributes most of this positive growth to a surge in jobs and mortgages that are kept current in nearly all metros.

Fannie Mae's new research released Tuesday indicates that people living in single-family rental properties (a house, townhouse, or condo) may be more likely to buy a home than those living in apartments.

Fannie Mae is revamping its affordable loan program to offer creditworthy borrowers with low and moderate incomes the opportunity to obtain a mortgage, according to a Tuesday announcement.

New single-family home sales rebounded from disappointing June data, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 507,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD.

Home prices in the U.S. rose 1.2 percent in the second quarter of 2015 for the 16th consecutive month, while home values lowered in July for the first time in four years.

Single-family homes built-for-rent rose to approximately 8,000 starts for the second quarter of 2015, compared to about 6,000 in the same period last year, according to data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design and National Association of Home Builders analysis.

The Federal Housing Administration and the Obama Administration said on Monday that it plans to issue a set of guidelines that will support borrowers that want to make energy-efficient improvements to their homes.