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The specialized lending arm of Prudential Mortgage Capital Company, which targets Federal Housing Administration-based loans, recently announced the closing of a $77.2 million deal on the FHA's behalf. Prudential Huntoon Paige (PHP), the official moniker of Prudential├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós FHA-focused division, purchased the loan to refinance a multi-family development in Upland, California.

The weekly mortgage applications numbers are in, and current data shows an increase nationally. The Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ended September 23 demonstrated a 9.3 percent rise in mortgage loan application volume on a seasonally-adjusted basis, according to the Market Composite Index contained within the report. The Purchase Index rose 2.6 percent this week on a seasonally-adjusted basis and showed a 0.1 percent hike year-over-year.

Standard & Poor's most recent data on home pricing indicates rising numbers over four consecutive months, according to the company's S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.

Florida Realtors has announced the hiring of a new chief economist, with the addition of Dr. John Tuccillo, who is a former chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.

Bank of America Corp. will continue to be under investigation, following a recent filing that alleges the big bank failed to properly inform investors as to risk factors associated with a pending lawsuit from American International Group. Hagens Berman announced that it will advance its look into BAC's investor dealings surrounding the bank's legal issues with AIG. BAC shares dropped significantly in the wake of the AIG filing, and it's estimated that the full damages equate to around 20 percent per share.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac released an outlook recently on the state of the housing sector and economy at-large that demonstrates a reduction in projections for demand.

Data from HMDA's annual survey indicates positive moves for minorities. The study's statistics examining lenders handling of minority borrowers shows a 5 percent decrease.

A suit filed Monday dispelled any notion that the Taylor Bean & Whitaker scandal ended with the lockup of the former ringleaders, according to multiple news reports. The trustee overseeing bankruptcy and liquidation proceedings for the now-defunct mortgage company went after auditors for failing to see red flags in their accounting processes. Deloitte & Touche LLP, the accounting firm responsible for audits at Taylor Bean & Whitaker, got slapped with suits on the hunt for $7.6 million in damages, according to news outlets.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency cut corners in the analysis it deployed to review and accept a $1.35-billion repurchase settlement from Bank of America over mortgage-backed securities for Freddie Mac, effectively ensuring that losses for the GSE would continue, according to a report released Tuesday by the agency's inspector general. The report concerns two buyback agreements between the mortgage giant and GSEs last year, with profit margins totaling $2.87 billion for the deal.

The rocky economic landscape could give way to a smoother housing sector if recent home prices signal anything, with a major Standard & Poor├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós/Case-Shiller index revealing Tuesday a marginal uptick in numbers over July. Economists chalked up the gains to a seasonal boost and suggested more stability may be on the way for a troubled housing economy. The indices reflected a 0.9-percent boon for measures of activity across 10 and 20 major metropolitan cities, a consecutive four-month increase.