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Survey: Economists Push Back Predictions for Interest Rate Hikes

A new survey released by the Wall Street Journal finds most don't expect the Federal Reserve to begin raising interest rates until mid-summer 2015 or later. In a poll of economists nationwide, the Journal found only about a third believe the Fed will start hiking up rates before June next year. That number is down from 45 percent of economists in the publication's August survey.

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Mortgage Rates Move Up from 2014 Lows

Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate came up slightly to 4.12 percent (0.5 point) for the week ending September 11, marking the first increase after three weeks of year-low averages. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.57 percent in Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

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Down Payments Trend Upward in Second Quarter

A new report by LendingTree finds that for the first time in a more than a year, the amount homebuyers are spending on down payments for their properties is on the rise. According to a report released Wednesday, down payment percentages for conventional 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose a little more than 1.5 percentage points to an average of 17.28 percent from the first to the second quarter.

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Housing Activity Stays Flat in Connecticut

Home sales in Connecticut barely nudged up in July, marking the fifth annual increase in what has so far been a mild year for the state. According to data released this week by the Warren Group, single-family home sales in the Constitution State totaled an estimated 3,152 in July, an increase of 0.7 percent over the same month last year.

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Mortgage Applications Plunge in Latest Index

Applications for mortgage loans took a hard drop in September's first week, ending at their lowest level in nearly 14 years, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). MBA's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey showed loan applications fell 7.2 percent for the week ending September 5, declining to the lowest level since December 2000. The week's results include seasonal adjustments and an adjustment for the Labor Day holiday.

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Asking Prices Up 7.8% as South Takes Lead

Home prices leveled up nationwide in August, boosting long-dawdling markets in the South and accelerating the recovery in other states as foreclosure gluts begin to clear, according to Trulia. According to Trulia, asking home prices only nudged along by 1 percent nationally last month, just a little above the marginal climb in July. Asking prices, meanwhile, leapt ahead by 7.8 percent year over year.

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Cash Sales Share Down to One-Third in June

The all-cash share of home sales dropped in June to its lowest level since the start of the financial crisis, CoreLogic reported Tuesday. In a post for the company's Insights Blog, senior economist Molly Boesel revealed that cash sales accounted for 33 percent of total transactions in June, down from 36.3 percent a year ago and the lowest share since September 2008.

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Investors Foresee Slower Path to Fed Rate Hikes

A new survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco finds investors aren't buying in to the central bank's projections of interest rate increases in the coming years. The San Francisco Fed's report comes one week before the FOMC announces its next economic policy move—and before Fed Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to give her own hints at the central bank's timeline.

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Homeownership Goals Alive Among Teens

In survey findings released Monday, Better Homes and Gardens found that the current generation of teenagers—dubbed "Generation Z"—already values homeownership as the cornerstone of the American Dream, with 82 percent of teens surveyed saying it is the most important factor. Looking to their future, 97 percent of those surveyed said they believe they will own a home.

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Employment Trend Index Inches Up in August

The Conference Board released Monday its Employment Trends Index (ETI) for August, reporting a slight increase from July to a reading of 121.29. "The strong increase in the Employment Trends Index in recent months signals robust job growth through the fall," said Gad Levanon, director of macroeconomic research at the Conference Board, adding that August's lower-than-expected employment numbers "seem to be a one-month deviation from a stronger trend."

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