Following FHFA's report on HARP refinances in August, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods anticipate an increase in non-HARP refinance activity.

The median sales price for homes sold in September continued to move higher yearly and monthly while sales stalled from August, according to a housing report from RE/MAX, which tracks MLS data in 52 metropolitan areas. The median sales price in September was $164,989, a slight 0.7 percent increase from August and a 7.8 percent improvement from September 2011. So far, prices have been rising yearly for eight straight months.

The default rate for first mortgages now stands at a post-recession low, and the default rate for second mortgages is at the lowest level in its more than 8-year history, according to data through September from the S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian for the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices. The first mortgage default rate fell to 1.36 percent in September, the lowest level since the end of the 2007/2009 recession. At the same time, the second mortgage default rate bottomed to 0.64 percent, down from 0.72 percent in August.

The California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) continued to report a shortage of inventory in September, which is limiting home sales but seems to be pushing up median home prices. According to C.A.R., the median home price in California is now at the highest level in more than four years. Sales, on the other hand, fell in September, sinking 5.2 percent from a revised 510,910 in August and declined 1.2 percent from a revised 490,280 a year ago.

Kroll Factual Data revealed that the loans it processes had a 1.3 percent quarterly increase in the possibility of fraudulent activity in Q2.

A Manhattan real estate attorney was sentenced to 51 months in prison for his role in a $9 million mortgage fraud scheme, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara announced Friday. According to the indictment and statements made in court proceedings, Eric Finger and his co-conspirators used "straw buyers" to fraudulently obtain mortgages from lenders.

Higher mortgage revenues helped Citigroup see retail banking revenues increase 35 percent to $1.7 billion from the third quarter of 2011.

Even with the record-low mortgage rates seen today, refinancing numbers are still not as high as expected. In CoreLogic's most recent MarketPulse report, Sam Khater and Molly Boesel noted, "the overall level of refinancing is still low given current mortgage rates, and there are still many homeowners nationwide with above market rates." Despite the new expansions from HARP 2.0, including the removal of its 125 percent LTV ceiling, other restrictions are still preventing homeowners from refinancing.

In a September National Association of Realtors (NAR) survey related to home appraisals over the past three months, 11 percent of Realtors said a contract was cancelled because a home was appraised at a value below the negotiated price. Another 9 percent said a contract was delayed, and 15 percent said a contract was renegotiated to a lower sale price. One reason for the low values, according to the NAR, is because some appraisers are not taking into account the difference between distressed and non-distressed homes when making comparisons.

Radian Guaranty Inc. wrote $3.54 billion in new mortgage insurance in September, the company reported Wednesday.