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American consumers' enthusiasm for the housing market rose over the summer from the year's start, but expectations for future market performance have become more subdued, according to survey results released by Zillow. Among the thousands of Americans surveyed, confidence is higher among renters as purchase conditions continue to look favorable and rent prices climb.

Florida Realtors released Monday its data on the state's housing market in August, reporting a 4.2 percent year-over-year rise in single-family home sales to a total of 21,594. "For several months now, stability and consistency are key trends we're seeing in Florida's housing market, as the state’s jobs outlook remains steady and the economy continues to grow," said Florida Realtors' president, Sherri Meadows.

Going against recent assertions that student debt may not prove as big a hindrance to the housing market as feared, a new report from researchers at John Burns Real Estate Consulting argues that student loans could cost the industry tens of billions of dollars this year alone.

According to transaction data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), existing-home sales last month were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 million, a decrease of 1.8 percent from July's sales pace of 5.14 million and a drop of 5.3 percent compared to last year. The group's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, pinned August's slower pace to a decline in all-cash purchases made by investors.

As the housing market continues to mend, analysts find the young-adult sector of the market is lagging. Some feel the lack of young first-time buyers is the main component holding the housing market back. However, this may not be the case everywhere. A burgeoning young, knowledge-based workforce is contributing to housing and overall economic growth in Pittsburgh and Cleveland, according to the latest Home Value Forecast from Pro Teck Valuation Services.

Zillow's August Home Value Index, released Friday, shows that U.S. home values in August rose at a cool 0.1 percent from July. This cooling of price increases is good news for both buyers and sellers, as slow growth makes for a market in which final sales numbers are more in sync with actual property values.

The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index (LEI) increased 0.2 percent last month to 103.8, half the increase expected by economists. The index grew 1.1 percent in July and 0.7 percent in June. "The LEI continued to rise in August, although at a slower rate than in July," said Ataman Ozyildirim, economist at the Conference Board. "Despite concerns about investment picking up, the economy should continue expanding at a moderate pace for the remainder of the year."

Former Goldman Sachs executive Joshua Pollard on Wednesday sent a sobering 18-page report to the White House warning of a potential nosedive in home prices that could put the country back into a recession before the ripples of the previous one settle. According to Pollard, the former head of the Goldman's housing research team, home price appreciation is outpacing income, and the United States is on the brink of a 15 percent decline in home prices over the next three years.

According to the government's figures, privately owned housing starts last month were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 956,000, marking a 14.4 percent month-over-month drop. July's rate of new homebuilding was revised up to 1.12 million. While apartment construction has led single-family homebuilding in most of this year's previous gains, the opposite was true in August's report: Multifamily starts (five units or more) plunged 31.5 percent in August to an adjusted annual rate of 304,000, while single-family starts were down a more modest 2.4 percent to 643,000.

NAHB's Housing Market Index, a gauge of builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes, rose four points in the group's latest reading to 59, nine points above the benchmark separating a market largely viewed as good from one viewed as poor. September's gain brings the index to its highest value since November 2005, NAHB reported.