What were the factors that reversed a six-month trend of declining sales for existing homes? Here’s what the latest data revealed.

The latest Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index has dropped again because these factors are keeping buyers away from the market.

In many ways the last 10 years have been the worst and best of times for the housing market. MReport dissects a decade that began with the housing market crash, and slowly recovered through evolving mortgage processes, emerging technologies, and new regulations. This select print feature originally appeared in the January issue of MReport, available now.

What once was a vibrant industry that thrived on creativity and differentiation from one’s competitors, the mortgage servicing industry is now relatively homogenous as servicers attempt to play it safe while adapting to myriad new regulations.

By clarifying the qualified residential mortgage (QRM) and QM (qualified mortgage) rules, regulators could attract private investors back into the mortgage market, Michael Held, president of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, told the audience at the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Annual Conference and Expo in Chicago Monday.

Government agencies have restructured for better risk protection and to position themselves to climb out of the mortgage and housing crisis of 2006-2009.

Minorities and seniors are growing their share of the national population more than ever, William H. Frey, senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, told attendees at the Mortgage Bankers Association's annual convention and expo Chicago Wednesday. There is also a continuing population shift out of the heartland states to what Frey classifies as the new Sunbelt.

At the recent conference held by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, implementation issues surrounding the Dodd-Frank Act were prominent, with Wayne Abernathy, executive vice president of the American Bankers Association, telling attendees that numerous delays in deploying the provisions of the bill are likely to continue. Abernathy stated that regulators have already extended 30 out of 30 deadlines for implementation, in several areas such as risk-retention rules, GSE dissolution, and loan officer compensation.

Lender reaction at the recent 47th annual Chicago Federal Reserve Conference was largely negative on the current proposal to alter the selection process for members of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee. The new system would allow Congress to choose members of the committee instead of continuing to use regional Fed officials selected by the private sector to determine committee membership. The bill introduced last week, is viewed as an attempt to move power away from the regional Fed system and the private sector.

As the Dodd-Frank Act moves slowly to implementation, banking officials speaking at the recent Chicago Federal Reserve Bank's annual conference pointed to the need for continued monitoring of financial services markets to mitigate the risk of future economic crisis. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke called for regulators to focus on two key types of risk: gaps in regulatory coverage and risks that vary with the economy, such as the buildup of lending leverage.