Mortgage rates continued to creep down near record lows this week, according to reports from Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com. Rates fell all around in Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ending May 2. According to the weekly survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.35 percent (0.7 point) this week, down from 3.40 percent last week. The all-time low average is 3.31 percent, set the week of November 21, 2012. For the second week in a row, the 15-year FRM reached a new low, falling to 2.56 percent (0.7 point).

While reluctance from lenders, sellers, and appraisers has become something of a drag on sales and price improvements, David Hicks, co-president of HomeVestors, asserts the market's slow growth has kept the country away from another housing bubble. Also worth noting is the current shortage of inventory, which has boosted price points and helped to drive off the sort of speculative buying behavior that could generate a bubble. Even so, low appraisals, tough financing criteria, and buyer and seller reluctance have provided a balancing weight.

Mortgage Insurance Companies of America (MICA) reported a lift in business in March, with dollar volume rising both month-over-month and year-over-year. At the same time, the number of private mortgage insurance applications received by MICA members totaled 43,278 in March, up from 36,793 in February and 32,540 in March 2012. March's application volume was the highest since last October, when MICA members reported receiving 46,045 applications.

President Obama announced Wednesday his nomination of Rep. Mel Watt (D-North Carolina) to serve as FHFA's director, a role played by Edward DeMarco since he was appointed acting director in August 2009. Watt has represented his district for more than 20 years. In his time as a congressman, Watt has made it part of his mission to put a spotlight on predatory lending practices and to ensure access to mortgages for low-income borrowers. ""He's helped protect consumers from the kind of reckless risk-taking that led to the financial crisis in the first place,"" Obama said in his personnel announcement.

The Market Composite Index in the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) weekly applications survey rose a seasonally adjusted 1.8 percent for the week ending April 26, the group reported. Unadjusted, the index was up 2 percent week-over-week. The Refinance Index increased 3 percent from the previous week, rising to its highest level since the week ending January 18. The share of refinance applications done under the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) increased to 34 percent, its highest recorded level.

After showing some reluctance at the beginning of the first quarter, homeowners polled for Redfin's second-quarter Real-Time Seller Survey seem far more interested in entering the market. According to responses collected by Redfin, 45 percent of sellers believe now is a good time to sell, up from just 22 percent in the first quarter and 15 percent in last year's fourth quarter.

CoreLogic, a leading residential property information, analytics, and services provider headquartered in California, announced its acquisition of Case-Shiller from Fiserv, Inc. The acquisition closed March 20.

According to Interthinx's yearly Mortgage Fraud Risk Report--based on analysis of loan applications processed throughout 2012 by Interthinx's FraudGUARD system--the 2012 Annual Mortgage Fraud Index was 150, a 3.4 percent rise from 2011's index reading of 145. While the East housed more risky states last year, the West was home to two of the riskiest--Nevada and Arizona, which ranked first and third in terms of risk, respectively.

Clarifire, a Florida-based provider of workflow automation technology, announced the launch of its next-generation website, eClarifire.com.

Even the usually ""unmoved"" appraiser community is starting to show confidence in today's housing climate, according to the results of a recently conducted industry survey released Wednesday. The data show nearly 55 percent of appraisers polled have ""mildly or moderately strong"" confidence in the housing market, while 25 percent were neutral. Experts say the group is a ""good gauge"" of housing conditions because they tend to be realistic, focused on their local markets, and unswayed by news stories or national numbers.