Market Studies

Though three million borrowers nationwide remain underwater, representing about 6.1 percent of the active mortgage universe, the number of underwater borrowers is down about 79 percent from the peak of 15 million in 2010, according to Black Knight.

At-risk customers, those that J.D. Power defines currently behind in their mortgage payments or concerned about keeping current during the next year, represent only 15 percent of the survey respondent pool. This small group has been the center of regulatory and other government agencies such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac.

Even with the higher-trending vacancy rates, monthly retention rates stayed within Morningstar's expectations, in the mid-70s to low-80s range.

Single-family rentals comprise 40 percent of the rental market, nearly equal with multi-family's share (42 percent) and more than double the 2-to-4 family share (18 percent), according to CoreLogic.

"May and June existing home sales have both been very encouraging for anyone looking for proof that the housing market is in recovery, and our July Nowcast indicates that this positive momentum will continue into July," Auction.com EVP Rick Sharga said.

In the July Economic Outlook, Fannie Mae expects the economy to pick up to an annualized rate of 2.8 percent in Q2, which is 0.4 percentage points higher than the June estimate. Despite volatile economic conditions overseas that could pose headwinds to the U.S. economy, the ESR Group's estimate for full-year economic growth in July is an annualized rate of 2.1 percent, up from June's forecast of 1.9 percent, according to Fannie Mae.

The 79.2 value for the latest MiMi, which was released Wednesday, indicated a weak overall housing market but improved by 0.71 percentage points from April to May and by more than 2 percentage points over the three-month period from the beginning of March to the end of May. The MiMi value improved by more than 4 percentage points year-over-year in May, according to Freddie Mac.

The cash sales share has declined year-over-year every month since January 2013. The share declined by 0.9 percentage points month-over-month in April, although year-over-year comparisons provide a more accurate picture for cash sales share due to seasonality in the housing market, according to CoreLogic.

"Almost all of our contacts noted a seasonal increase in their residential mortgage business, which was heavily weighted toward new-home purchases," the Fed wrote. "The rapid rise in rental rates was cited as a motivating factor to purchase homes. Little change was reported in delinquencies (already at low levels) and loan-application standards."

According to the report, investors bidding at live events are more likely to flip the properties they purchase based on survey responses collected in the second quarter of 2015. Respondents noted a preference toward flipping over holding to rent in every state where Auction.com conducted live events.