As a broad measure of the market, the Fed's index includes a number of indicators that go beyond just the national unemployment rate, including average hourly earnings, hiring rates, and labor force participation, among others.

Meg Burns, former senior associate director for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), has signed on to the Washington, D.C.-based Collingwood Group as managing director, the company announced.

JPMorgan Chase reports it has completed nearly a quarter of its consumer relief obligations required under a landmark mortgage-backed securities (MBS) settlement last year.

According to the latest monthly figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the nation added 248,000 jobs in September, bringing employment growth back above 200,000 after an unexpected drop in August.

Delinquency and foreclosure rates also were much improved. According to Trulia and Black Knight, the national delinquency and foreclosure rate was 74 percent back to normal in August—the same as one quarter ago and up from 56 percent one year ago. Trulia's chief economist, Jed Kolko, said that with the share of mortgage borrowers with negative or near-negative equity dropping, the default rate should continue to drop.

Annual price appreciation regularly topped 10 percent nationwide in 2012 and 2013, fueled in large part by high levels of investor activity and a shortage of homes on offer to interested buyers. As of July, yearly growth was down to 5.6 percent, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Price Indices.

Declines were recorded in both component indices: The group's gauge of current economic conditions fell to 89.4 from 93.9, while the index measuring consumers' outlook fell to 83.7 from 93.1.

News Corp, one of the world's biggest mass media companies, is buying online real estate firm Move, Inc., in a $950 million cash deal.

In a recent release, the agency reported a combined total of 119,699 refinances were completed at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in July, slightly down from the figure reported for June. While low compared to the boom in recent years, refinance volumes over the last few months have shown more life than earlier this year as mortgage interest rates have hovered in the low 4.0 percent range.

The drop in the pending sales measure came in the same month that the association reported a dip in existing home sales. According to NAR, sales of existing homes in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 million, down 1.8 percent from July.