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In its weekly released Primary Mortgage Market Survey, Freddie Mac found the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 4.12 percent (0.6 point) for the week ending May 29, down from 4.14 percent last week and the lowest 30-year fixed average since October 2013.

Freddie Mac's Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi), a gauge of housing stability, slid up just 0.03 points in its latest reading to -3.06, indicating the market is still on the weak side of the spectrum. Compared to last year, the MiMi has improved by 0.66 points. However, trends are less favorable now than they were at that time, said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac.

Purchase loans made up 63 percent of originations in April, up from 60 percent a month earlier and significantly higher than last year, according to the latest report from Ellie Mae. Jonathan Corr, Ellie Mae's president and COO, noted it was the highest share of purchase loans the company has recorded since it began reporting data in August 2011.

In Michigan, DLS Servicing Consultants and WorkSmart Database Masters have come together to release WaterfallCalc.com, a new Web-based Waterfall loss mitigation program for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages.

The National Association of Realtors' (NAR) recorded a 0.4 percent gain in Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) for April, bringing it up to 97.8. A measure of contract signings, the index serves as a forward-looking indicator for future sales activity. "Higher inventory levels are giving buyers more choices, and a slight decline in mortgage interest rates this spring is raising prospective buyers' confidence," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released Thursday its second look at gross domestic product (GDP) for Q1, estimating an annualized 1.0 percent decline as private inventory investment dropped further than originally reported. BEA's first estimate, released late April, put growth at an estimated annual rate of 0.1 percent compared to Q4's final rate of 2.6 percent.

After moving up for three straight weeks, mortgage application volumes dropped last week as activity fell for both purchases and refinances. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday that applications fell 1.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending May 23. On an unadjusted basis, application totals were down 2 percent.

After sinking steadily for the last 10 months, new business activity has picked up a bit for Freddie Mac—though that didn't stop its portfolio from shrinking again. The mortgage giant released Wednesday its volume summary for April, recording a negative annualized growth rate of 3.0 percent for its total mortgage portfolio. It was the highest rate of contraction since October, when the portfolio shrank at a rate of 6.4 percent.

Refinance volumes dropped in the first quarter to a post-recession low, according to stats released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Meanwhile, the share of refinances done through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) continued to pull back, slipping to about 21 percent of total activity.

Mortgage information services firm Informative Research announced its successful completion of Experian's Independent Third Party Assessment (EI3PA) certification, an annual evaluation designed to grade companies on their work protecting the information they receive from Experian.