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The recent fast-paced home price appreciation across the country led some markets to the brink of a bubble, but deceleration over the summer months has Zillow analysts breathing a sigh of relief as the bubble threat deflates. Home value appreciation has declined steadily for three months, according to Zillow, and half of the nation's 20 largest metros experienced negative appreciation in September. "Far from being a negative sign, we're relieved to see more noticeable signs of cooling in the market," said Stan Humphries, chief economist for Zillow.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Mike Fratantoni has been appointed chief economist following the departure of Jay Brinkmann.

Overall, Fannie's outlook is "largely unchanged from the previous forecast," although "fiscal uncertainties associated with the federal government shutdown, the protracted negotiations to raise the debt ceiling, and the timing of the Federal Reserve's tapering of its asset purchase program, pose significant downside risks to economic activity in the current quarter," said Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae. As such, the GSE is revising its forecasted GDP growth for this year from 2 percent to 1.9 percent.

Purchase share continued to inch up in September as refinances receded, according to data presented by Ellie Mae in the company's Origination Insight Report.

Sentiment is "cautiously optimistic" surrounding the future of the nation's economy, although the federal government shutdown was cause for some concern, according to the Federal Reserve's Beige Book released Wednesday. Revealing economic conditions in each of the Federal Reserve's 12 districts, the report found "modest to moderate" economic expansion over the reporting period from August 27 through October 7. Reports of the housing market were generally positive, with most markets growing--or at least not faltering.

Mortgage rates broke their streak of weekly declines, climbing this week as the federal budget deadline approached.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has appointed Tricia Migliazzo as VP of membership for the association's Residential Policy & Member Services Group.

The once-volatile housing market is making strides toward equilibrium, according to a new report from Realtor.com.

Builder confidence fell again in October but remained north of neutral, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported Wednesday in its Housing Market Index (HMI) report. Despite declining for the second straight month, the index has hovered above the neutral mark for five consecutive months now, and NAHB reports seeing signs of pent-up demand in many markets across the country. Furthermore, the association believes October's drop represents a temporary blip.

On a monthly basis, home prices rose 0.6 percent in August, according to FNC's Residential Price index (RPI), a measure of price changes in the country's 100 large metropolitan areas. On a yearly basis, the increase is 5.3 percent. The monthly gain in August was smaller than the gains accrued over the two previous months--a sign that the recovery remains uneven across the nation, FNC says. With seasonal trends usually putting a drag on housing measures, the deceleration can be expected to go on.