The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago is teaming up with Ginnie Mae to provide member institutions with easy access to the secondary market through the Mortgage Partnership Finance (MPF) program.

The National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index reached its highest level on record in September with a little more than 80 percent of markets qualifying as improving. Of the 291 markets that made it onto the latest Improving Markets Index, 242 were repeats from the previous month, and 49 were new to the list. However, the association noted that September's result was largely due to a change to the way Freddie Mac measures home prices.

Mortgage rates rose from 3.57 percent to 4.07 percent over the second quarter, while total refinances completed through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fell from about 1.4 million to about 1.3 million.

While price gains may paint a picture of a recovery well on its way, construction figures aren't as encouraging, according to an analysis from Trulia. While prices are up 11 percent year-over-year in August, according to Trulia, which monitors list prices, construction activity is lagging. Additionally, when it comes to price gains and increases in construction, markets tend to be experiencing one or the other, with markets reporting price growth seeing meager construction.

As the market trudges toward recovery, housing starts remain depressed due to a shortage of vacant lots, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

Profits on mortgage loan originations declined while the cost of originating a mortgage loan increased over the second quarter of this year.

Income at financial institutions insured by the FDIC rose during the second quarter, according to a report released Thursday by the agency. Total net income at FDIC-insured institutions increased 22.6 percent year-over-year to $42.2 billion in the second quarter. "Asset quality continues to recover, loan balances are trending up, fewer institutions are unprofitable, the number of problem banks is down, and the number of failures is significantly below levels of a year ago," said FDIC chairman Martin J. Gruenberg.

Trulia's Housing Barometer dialed up to 64 percent "back to normal" in July, the company reported.

Among bank employees, residential mortgage loan officers have experienced the greatest compensation increase over the past four years--35.6 percent, including base pay and incentive pay, according to the latest Comprehensive Financial Institutions Compensation Survey from Crowe Horwath LLP, a national public accounting consulting firm based in Chicago. Part of the rise in compensation for mortgage loan officers is the result of the refinance boom that resulted from record-low interest rates, according to Crowe Horwath.

Housing continued to lean strongly toward a sellers' market in July, with time on market falling and prices becoming more favorable for sellers, according to the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. The survey shows the average number of weeks a home spent on the market in the three-month period ending July was 8.6 weeks, while the average sales-to-list-price ratio was 98 percent. California performed exceptionally well in all categories, while parts of the Midwest underperformed.