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The Urban Land Institute (ULI) has released a new study that shows declining expectations for the U.S. economic picture, with one positive exception - single-family housing. In the organization's semi-annual Real Estate Consensus Forecast, ULI found that most growth projections had been scaled back, but the group's survey of 39 leading real estate economists and analysts from around the U.S. indicated "more optimism" in the single-family housing industry, as forecasts for starts and home prices demonstrated significant increases.

Consumer spending rose $57.2 billion - 0.5 percent - in August, but personal income improved just $15 billion, 0.1 percent, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday.

After reaching a two-year high in July, the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) fell in August to 99.2, the lowest level since April, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Having previously predicted that the index would climb to 102.2, declining numbers in three of four census regions surprised analysts. The slippage in both the PHSI and new home sales dampens the outlook for home sales, but NAR emphasized that the August drop hadn't impacted longer-term trends, with the index up 10.7 percent in the last year.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 1.3 percent during the second quarter of the year, falling below market expectations.

Shaking off the effects of Hurricane Isaac, first-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 26,000 to 359,000 for the week ended September 22, according to findings from the Labor Department. Falling far below market expectations, the report followed revisions to the previous week's survey, which was adjusted upward to 385,000 first-time claims off of the originally reported 382,000. Economists had predicted a smaller figure for first-time claims, anticipating around 376,000.

Walker & Dunlop, Inc., announced that Douglas C. Blake has been hired as senior vice president of the company's closing department. According to Walker & Dunlop's recent release, Blake will manage the department, including all aspects of the loan closing process.

While the fall months look to be unprecedented for the housing market, LendingTree expects tight lending requirements will keep many borrowers from taking advantage.

A recent study from Heardable, Inc., revealed that Quicken Loans outpaces its lending competitors in strong branding through digital presence.

Tallying new residential sales for August, the latest report conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development showed a 27.7 percent increase in sales on a year-over-year basis. However, July numbers bested findings from August, with sales flagging 0.3 percent month-to-month. By region, results from the survey revealed that the West and the Northeast have experienced the strongest improvements in the number of new homes sold year-to-date as of August.

Homebuyers in Manhattan have the chance to live like a hip hop mogul, now that P. Diddy has listed his New York City apartment for $8.5 million. Calling it an "entertainer's dream," Zillow reports that the music man transitioned the three-bedroom property into a more open space, turning the pad into a one-bedroom abode with an enormous media and piano room.