The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index (LEI), a measure of economic growth expectations for the coming months, increased 0.9 percent in October to a reading of 105.2, the group reported Thursday. The spike follows a 0.7 percent increase in September and a flat reading in August.

In its latest market update, Zillow reported that the number of for-sale homes nationwide rose 15.8 percent year-over-year in October. While the increase may be welcome news for home shoppers in some of the country's most supply-starved metros, the number comes with a catch: The biggest gains were seen in the highest price tier of homes.

Solutionstar, a subsidiary of Texas-based Nationstar Mortgage Holdings, announced Friday it has entered into an agreement to acquire Experience 1, Inc., the holding company for Title365 and two other technology subsidiaries in a $36 million cash deal.

Delivering comments to a group of REO brokers and agents, Ed Delgado, president and CEO of the Five Star Institute, offered his take on how the stage is set for the mortgage sector in 2015. "There are several embedded risks in the mortgage market that pose future risk of performance that have yet to be expressed," Delgado remarked. "In effect, the market may not be recovering at the rate that we think it is."

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed on Thursday an additional set of measures designed to expand foreclosure protections for mortgage borrowers.

In its Primary Mortgage Market Survey, Freddie Mac recorded the average 30-year fixed interest rate at 3.99 percent (0.5 point) for the week ending November 20, just down from an average of 4.01 percent last week. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.22 percent.

In its latest Origination Insight Report, released Thursday, mortgage technology provider Ellie Mae reported that refinancing activity accounted for 40 percent of overall mortgage volume in October, marking the highest level since March. Despite the increase in demand, lenders were able to improve their closing time on refinance loans.

Total existing-home sales in October, including single-family houses, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops, came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.26 million, up 1.5 percent from an upwardly revised estimate of 5.18 million in September, according to transaction data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

According to a report from Bloomberg, lawyers for both sides told a judge on Tuesday they’re doubtful about the chances of reaching an agreement on a suit alleging the bank fraudulently submitted loans for insurance through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

In an announcement Wednesday, FDIC introduced the first in what the agency says will be a series of technical assistance videos developed in the wake of this year's mortgage regulations handed down from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).