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Legal actions on mortgage fraud cases fell to a post-crisis low in 2013's third quarter, Mortgage Daily reported in its quarterly Mortgage Fraud Index. The index, which tracks motions and decisions on cases in which lenders are given false information for the loan decision process, was 655 in Q3, the lowest value since the fourth quarter of 2007. Despite the overall decline, certain states remain hot spots for fraud; According to the site, California had the highest third-quarter index value, and Nevada's index climbed again.

While the housing market is showing some signs of promise, a few major indicators continue to lag, according to the latest Trulia Housing Barometer.

Mueller Reports, a provider of property data collection services operating out of New York state, announced its intentions to expand into the valuation space in 2014.

Despite a reported rise in homebuyer confidence in the third quarter--the first this year--unrealistic mortgage rate expectations could lead the housing recovery astray.

Fixed mortgage rates moved down slightly this week, reflecting a lack of much solid news for markets to latch on to. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaging 4.42 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending December 12, a decrease from 4.46 percent last week. The same time last year, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.32 percent. Bankrate.com reported even smaller changes in its weekly survey. According to the finance site, the 30-year fixed averaged 3.55 percent this week, unchanged from the last report.

Applications for new home purchases plummeted from October to November, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) estimates in its latest Builder Application Survey (BAS).

An increasingly cautious outlook for the economy has put a crimp in the housing market's forward momentum, according to Fannie Mae's latest National Housing Survey. Doug Duncan, SVP and chief economist at Fannie Mae, said: "We continue to see caution as the defining feature of Americans' attitudes toward the economy and their personal financial situation. In this environment, the housing recovery is likely to improve, but only at a gradual pace."

Tom Lewis, founder and CEO of Arizona-based homebuilder T.W. Lewis Company, is the first-ever inductee in Professional Builder magazine's National Housing Quality (NHQ) Award Hall of Fame, the company announced.

DataQuick, a real estate information solutions firm headquartered in San Diego, announced it has expanded its Standard Recorder layout to provide a more comprehensive view of properties and transactions.

The University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters Index of Consumer Sentiment climbed to a five-month high of 82.5 in a preliminary report, increasing more than seven points over November's final reading and beating a consensus forecast of 75.5. Both of the components measuring confidence in current and future conditions increased. The Current Conditions Index rose to its own five-month high of 97.9 from November's 88.0, while the expectations index increased to a four-month peak of 72.7 from 66.8.