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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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Regulators Optimistic on Finalizing Risk Retention Rule

Financial regulators said Tuesday they hope to finish their work on a rule aimed at tightening mortgage standards and reducing risk by the end of this year. In a Senate Banking Committee hearing, FDIC chair Martin Gruenberg said his agency and others are "in the end game" of their work on a rule that would require mortgage-backed securities (MBS) issuers to hold a stake on packaged loans that don't meet certain exemption requirements.

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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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Regulators Finalize Liquidity Rule for Large Banks

Federal regulators announced last week they have finalized a rule with regards to the "liquidity coverage ratio" (LCR) of large financial institutions. The final rule is nearly identical to the rule that was originally proposed with a few changes based on public comments.

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CBO: GSE Wind-Down Bill Could Cut Spending by $60B

A bill proposed to dissolve the GSEs and replace them with a limited government backstop could cut direct spending by $60 billion over the next 10 years, according to an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office. Under S. 1217, the new system of guaranteeing mortgage-backed securities (MBS) would mean less risk for the government, therefore costing the government less money.

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