Daily Dose

In a statement released Wednesday following the end of the Federal Open Market Committee's latest meeting, the Fed announced that starting in October, it will dial back its monthly purchases of agency mortgage-backed securities and Treasury securities to a combined pace of $15 billion per month. Barring any significant setback in the economy in the next month, the committee announced it could end its asset purchases at its October meeting.

Despite concerns about their current presence, millennials still have a major role to play in shaping the housing market in the coming years, researchers assert in a new report from the Demand Institute (TDI). Based on an analysis of economic and consumer research over the last 18 months, TDI predicts the number of households headed by millennials will reach 21.6 million by 2018, representing an increase of 8.3 million since 2013.

MBA's Market Composite Index, a measure of application levels, rose 7.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending September 12, the group reported. The bounce followed a 7.2 percent decline in the previous week, which included an adjustment to account for the Labor Day holiday.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., Michael Stegman, counselor to the Treasury secretary for housing finance policy, explained that lenders are currently reluctant to make non-agency loans without first knowing how they'll rate on the market. At the same time, credit rating agencies don't rate mortgage pools until they see the actual loan tape.

FNC, Inc.'s national Residential Price Index (RPI), a metric of prices in 100 of the nation's largest housing markets excluding REO and foreclosure sales, grew 0.6 percent month-over-month in July, slowing again from 0.8 percent in June (which in turn was down from 1.2 percent in May). The narrower 30-metro composite index saw a similar slowdown, also declining to 0.6 percent growth, while the 10-metro composite saw a half a percentage point drop to 0.4 percent.

U.S. Bank has reached a settlement with a housing regulator over allegations the bank discriminated against a Native American couple in denying them a refinance. Under the settlement's terms, U.S. Bank agreed to pay the couple's U.S. Bank credit card balance, amounting to nearly $11,500. The bank also agreed to approve their refinance application at the same interest rate and terms under which they originally applied in May 2013.

In findings released Tuesday, COUNTRY Financial revealed 89 percent of Americans in its most recent Security Index survey feel that buying a home is a key part of achieving the American Dream despite their recent memories of the crash. Even more promising, 64 percent of respondents expressed belief that owning a home is an attainable goal for a typical middle-income family, a significant improvement over last year, when just 41 percent said the same.

The House Judiciary Committee approved bipartisan legislation aimed at speeding up the bankruptcy process and preventing taxpayers from taking the hit in the event of the failure of large financial institutions. The backers of the Financial Institution Bankruptcy Act say it will expedite the bankruptcy process with a speedy judicial review and quicker transfer of assets from the bank to a bridge company.

In a poll of more than 2,000 consumers, Wells Fargo found 68 percent feel that now is a good time to buy a home, and 95 percent want to own if they don't already. On the other hand, while nearly three-quarters of respondents in Wells Fargo's survey said they "know and understand" the financial process involved in buying a home, large numbers also expressed doubt or misguided notions about homebuying requirements.

A new $835 million Ginnie Mae mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) portfolio has hit the market, with Colorado-based MountainView Servicing Group acting as the advisor. According to an announcement from MountainView, the bulk servicing offering includes 99.7 percent fixed-rate and 100 percent first-lien product with a weighted average original FICO score of 691.