With recent reports signaling a throwback for public officials involved in debt-ceiling negotiations, housing analysts and market watchers worry about the possible fallout for government-backed mortgages in a default scenario come August. If the federal government defaults on its debt, analysts say, still-brittle mortgage markets will splinter as mortgage rates follow spikes in Treasury yields. Concerns continue to grow after a series of breakdowns between Congress and the White House.

Following months of anticipation among critics and admirers alike, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau formally opened its doors Thursday, taking over rule-writing and enforcement abilities for 18 consumer financial laws, preparing a host of new regulators, and assuming an array of powers provided by the Dodd-Frank Act. The launch notwithstanding, a tied-up confirmation process, scale-up difficulties, and stiff political opposition from the past year hold the CFPB back, making some wonder how the bureau will function.

On Wednesday the Mortgage Bankers Association released its weekly survey, showing jumps in mortgage applications by 15.5 percent and by 23.1 percent in refinances, respectively, from the previous week. According to the survey, mortgage loan application volume went up over 15 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, with a steady increase by 43 percent. According to the survey, mortgage loan application volume went up over 15 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, with a steady increase by 43.9 percent on an unadjusted basis from the week earlier.

On Tuesday the Government Accountability Office added to fears over rising mortgage rates by releasing a new report that casts concern on the role risk retention will play in the markets. A provision in the Dodd-Frank Act obligates the GAO to perform an economic impact analysis, making the report a timely one since it arrives on the heels of outcry from trade and industry associations. It added that mortgage-related provisions in Dodd-Frank would prescribe "tradeoffs" between additional consumer financial protection and a needed expansion in credit supply.

Despite a forward leap by prices, a surge in contract cancellations led to a sudden easing in existing-home sales over June, according to a National Association of Realtors report. Analysts at the trade association placed blame for the lax numbers at the feet of wary lenders and continuing economic uncertainties. According to the report, upward-bound sales across regions like the South and Midwest contrasted with dips in the Northwest and Northeast, alongside a steadily slacking condo sector.

Following his nomination Monday, lawmakers and trade associations continue to greet Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director-nominee Richard Cordray stiffly, with spokespeople accepting his new role lukewarmly.

On Monday mortgage giant Freddie Mac published its monthly Economic and Housing Market Outlook, revealing a recovery in the rental sector and diminishing possibilities for a double-dip recession, with home sales expected to rise above the same for last year by as much as 3 to 5 percent. Households continued to feel concern over their finances, delaying action on larger-than-average purchases. Moreover, the rental housing market crept by with only a 15.2 percent pickup over the past year and through the first quarter this year.

In a statement released Monday, the White House announced that it would nominate two persons with national standing to serve on the board of directors for the Federal Agriculture Mortgage Corporation, the GSE otherwise known as Farmer Mac.

On Tuesday Ginnie Mae gave the green-light to mortgage lender and servicer Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC to issue single-family mortgage-backed securities, allowing the company to package and securitize FHA loans.

On Monday lawmakers introduced a bill that would extend the current conforming loan limits for another two years a deal that could continue federal insurance for homeowners with high conforming jumbo loans. Rep. John Campbell (R-California) and Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-New York) co-sponsored the bill, titled the Conforming Loan Limits Extension Act, which would fix the limit for jumbo loans backed by GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration at $729,750.