Another bank fell quiet in Michigan Friday, lifting the national tally to 16 this year but falling short of the pace set by bank failures over the last several years. State regulators shuttered Dearborn-based Fidelity Bank, citing unsafe and unsound conditions in an order that made the FDIC receiver for $818.2 million in total assets and $747.6 million in total deposits. The Huntington National Bank stepped up to assume nearly all of Fidelity├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós assets, along with 15 branches that it rebranded and reopened Saturday.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau threw its weight into the courtroom recently by filing a friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the tenth circuit. The issue at stake: Whether homeowners can cancel their loans within a three-year period stipulated under the Truth-in-Lending Act ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô and whether a plaintiff need sue within the same timeframe before the right of rescission expires. The case in Denver involves one Jean Rosenfield, who sued for an injunction against servicer HSBC in 2009 when an earlier notice of rescission went unnoticed by the servicer and lender.

Higher gasoline prices and concerns about Chinese growth fed bond investments, driving down mortgage rates once again amid worrying signs about the economy. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac found rates for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage falling from 4.08 percent last week to 3.99 percent this week. The company said the 15-year loan fell from 3.30 percent last week to 3.23 percent this week, a change of pace from 4.09 percent seen year-over-year. Five-year and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages meanwhile slid from 2.96 percent and 2.84 percent to 2.90 percent and 2.78 percent, respectively.

Housing lingered in the doldrums of a recovery last year but may pick up by 2014 as the U.S. economy generally improves, analysts and economists said Wednesday. The Urban Land Institute polled 38 real estate analysts and economists to signal their expectations for "broad improvements" in the nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós economy and real estate markets in 2012. The survey revealed that transaction volume in commercial real estate markets could reach as much as $312 billion in 2014, up from a projected $250 billion in 2012. The news is welcome for an industry that has stayed under a cloud since the crisis.

A climb for mortgage rates last week cooled mortgage applications, leading overall volume to edge down by 2.7 percent. The Mortgage Bankers Association found in a weekly survey that the refinance share of mortgage activity also continued a six-week streak of declines, with a deflation from 73.4 percent of total applications to 71.9 percent last week. The Refinance Index accordingly ticked down by 4.6 percent from the week before, falling to the lowest figures since December last year. The MBA attributed the dip in a statement to a 12-percent decline in government refinance activity.

Referrals from real estate agents guide about one-third of mortgage-financing decisions for today├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós homebuyers, according to a recent survey. Campbell Surveys and Inside Mortgage Finance polled about 1,800 Realtors in January to learn that agents recommended about 60 percent of the business for mortgage lenders. The survey inferred from the results that real estate agents influence or shape some 34 percent of mortgage-financed home purchases. Recommendations by many agents came about as a result of pre-existing relationships with lenders.

Mortgage rates continued to show signs of stability this week, with rates for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage largely repeating a series of bumpy but steady fluctuations. Real estate Web site Zillow fielded 3.88 percent for the 30-year loan, nine basis points down from 3.97 percent last week after a back-and-forth between 3.89 percent and 3.98 percent. The company said that rates for the 15-year loan averaged 3.1 percent this week, with those for 5-year and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages not far behind at 2.72 percent.

Job and employment figures may keep homeowners near the sidelines, but more Americans still value homeownership and consider it an investment worth making, according to a recent survey. Mortgage giant Fannie Mae polled some 3,000 respondents during the fourth quarter and revealed the figures in a Quarterly National Housing Survey Tuesday. More Americans prefer homeownership to the alternative ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô renting ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô and see it as an investment in their futures. The belief in homeownership also extended to respondents across all education levels.

State regulators shuttered two banks Friday, lifting the national tally to 15 for 2012 so far. Branches fell dark for Rock Spring, Georgia-based Covenant Bank & Trust and Wilmette, Illinois-based Premier Bank. Covenant Bank & Trust went under with $95.7 million in total assets and $90.6 million in total deposits, burning $31.5 million from the FDIC├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós Deposit Insurance Fund. Stearns Bank signed off on a loss-share transaction to cover $71.6 million in assets from the financial institution. The International Bank of Chicago picked up Premier Bank in a separate transaction.

A Dallas-based lender lost privileges Friday when HUD announced that it had permanently banned it from underwriting and originating new mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration. Effective immediately, AmericaHomeKey, Inc., will no longer have the ability to churn out loans guaranteed by federal mortgage insurance. The department leveled a number of charges against AHK, claiming that it failed to properly document borrower eligibility for loans in accordance with closing costs, income requirements, and unallowable fees.