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The Senate Banking Committee convened a hearing Tuesday to address concerns that large mortgage lenders continue to edge out their smaller rivals. Lawmakers called the current mortgage system unsustainable.

According to a recent report, Ginnie Mae issuers put up over $26 billion in mortgage-backed securities for sale on the secondary market over the course of May, reflecting a 4 percent overall decline from April. HUD released a report indicating the placement of 99.5 percent of FHA-insured loans and 97 percent of VA-backed loans in Ginnie Mae packages over the course of 2010, with an end-point in September. Ginnie Mae also securitized $770 million worth in FHA-insured reverse mortgages and $1.6 billion in multifamily loans over the course of May.

Home sales in Massachusetts fell by more than 25 percent over May in comparison with rates from the same month last year, while home prices shot up, interrupting a five-month-long trend, according to The Warren Group.

On Wednesday real estate investment company C-III Capital Partners LLC inked its name to an agreement approving acquisition plans for NAI Global, a global network of commercial real estate firms, potentially bringing the firm, with assets valued at nearly $150 billion, up to speed as an increasingly competitive force.

Freddie Mac reported the decline of its overall mortgage portfolio by an annual rate of 3.5 percent over May, signaling losses for the government-sponsored enterprise in a mortgage market the federal officials want to hand back to private investors. Issuing its monthly volume update, the GSE's origination volume for single-family refinance-loan purchases dropped to $13.3 billion over May, reflecting 58 percent of total mortgage purchases and issuances.

On Thursday Consumer Financial Protection Bureau nominee Elizabeth Warren attended a virtual press conference, delineating six groups of nonbank companies that may soon fall under the agency's broad scope of authority. The agency is responsible for ensuring that both banks and nonbanks comply with consumer financial protection and fair lending laws, Warren said, reading from a prepared statement.

Seeking to dispel controversy surrounding recent rule-making efforts, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau nominee and Treasury Department adviser Elizabeth Warren attended a virtual press conference on Thursday to invite public commentary and uphold the agency's claim to sweeping powers under the Dodd-Frank Act. Warren briefly touched on the proposed definition for so-called ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├àÔÇ£larger participants,├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├é┬Ø citing nonbank mortgage companies, payday lenders, and private student lenders as subjects that would fall under the rule.

Members of Congress linked arms with a broad coalition of community and professional associations to call for the reversal of a key provision in the Dodd-Frank Act, which critics charge will upend recovery in the housing markets, close the door on new homebuyers, and force borrowers to shoulder higher costs. The lawmakers and industry groups showed up in force at a press conference organized by the Coalition for Sensible Housing Policy, which plans to submit a white paper to authorities as official commentary.

With total U.S. debt soaring past $14 billion in May and negotiations over a controversial ceiling raise splintering at the highest levels, analysts worry that the Federal Housing Administration may shut down if the federal government defaults on August 2 -- a crisis scenario that would wreak havoc in housing markets, tightening the credit supply and spoiling a recovery. Analysts suggest that a default by the government would unfairly and adversely impact minority homeowners.

The U.S. Census Bureau and HUD released data indicating southerly drifts for sales of new homes, revealing a 2.1 percent drop beneath the April rate of 326,000, 13.5 percent above the 281,000 estimates from May 2010.