Headlines

Loans refinanced through the Home Affordable Refinance Program held steady for the second quarter of 2015. According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Refinance Report, the total number of loans refinanced through HARP in the second quarter was nearly the same as the number recorded in first quarter.

Pending home sales increased slightly in July for the sixth time in seven months, according to the National Association of Realtors. The Pending Home Sales Index increased 0.5 percent to 110.9 in July from an upwardly revised 110.4 in June.

As the housing market strengthens, many economists believe that it could withstand an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve this year, pending stabilization among home prices.

Multiple market indicators show solid strong stabilization within housing in June, mostly due to employment and current mortgages, according to Freddie Mac's Multi-Indicator Market Index. Housing markets are the strongest they have been since 2008, with the national MiMi surpassing 80 in June. Freddie Mac attributes most of this positive growth to a surge in jobs and mortgages that are kept current in nearly all metros.

Irvine, California-based online real estate marketplace Auction.com has announced the hiring of former eBay executive Kristine Chin as VP of customer engagement. The duties of the newly-created role of VP of consumer engagement involve spearheading a cohesive, comprehensive, company-wide effort to help Auction.com employees understand the company's customers raise awareness of their needs both now and for the future.

Fannie Mae's new research released Tuesday indicates that people living in single-family rental properties (a house, townhouse, or condo) may be more likely to buy a home than those living in apartments.

Fannie Mae is revamping its affordable loan program to offer creditworthy borrowers with low and moderate incomes the opportunity to obtain a mortgage, according to a Tuesday announcement.

Home prices in the U.S. rose 1.2 percent in the second quarter of 2015 for the 16th consecutive month, while home values lowered in July for the first time in four years.

The Federal Housing Administration and the Obama Administration said on Monday that it plans to issue a set of guidelines that will support borrowers that want to make energy-efficient improvements to their homes.

Monday's stock market performance brought about some anxiety among big U.S. businesses and other stakeholders while the Dow Jones dropped by 1,000 points and spent the rest of the day fighting its way back toward the break-even point.