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In July, national home prices jumped 9.3 percent year-over-year, led by gains in the West, according to Clear Capital's latest housing report. Among metro areas, price gains were especially strong in Las Vegas, where home values spiked 31.2 percent from last year. Despite the recent streak of impressive home price gains, Clear Capital expects the market to experience more moderate and sustainable increases in the last half of 2013 as homebuyers transition into the ""new normal"" the report explained.

Four California men face jail time, probation, and restitution fees for alleged mortgage modification scams. The men defrauded hundreds of homeowners of more than $130,000, according to an announcement Tuesday from the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP). The four defendants sent promotional letters to homeowners offering to modify or refinance their home loans. They collected upfront fees for their services and did not deliver on their promises.

In a speech Tuesday, President Barack Obama will stress the need for a new housing finance system based on specific core principles that include putting private capital first, ending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's ""failed business model,"" and ensuring broad access to the 30-year fixed rate mortgage, according to a fact sheet from the White House. ""Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be wound down through a responsible transition, and the government role during normal times should be no bigger than necessary to achieve the principles laid out here,"" officials stated in the fact sheet released prior to the speaking event in Phoenix.

The national mortgage delinquency rate sunk to 4.09 percent in the second quarter of this year, representing a near 26 percent decrease from the same quarter last year, according to data from TransUnion. The delinquency rate, which includes loans that are 60 days or more past due, also showed a 10 percent quarterly decline. The reduction was widespread across the country, with all states, plus the District of Columbia, experiencing annual declines in their delinquency rates. Furthermore, 95.4 percent of metro areas tracked saw annual declines in their delinquency rate in the second quarter, up from 91 percent in the first quarter of this year.

Double-digit annual increases continued in June as home prices surged 11.9 percent, CoreLogic reported Tuesday. The increase marks the 16th consecutive month of annual home price appreciation. From May to June, prices grew 1.9 percent. Even with the significant annual gains, home prices are still 19 percent below their April 2006 peak, the data provider revealed.

The number of job openings rose 29,000 in June to the highest level in five years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Tuesday in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). At the same time, the number of unemployed individuals per job opening dipped below 3 (to 2.99) for the first time since October 2008. The number of unemployed per job opening fell sharply in the construction industry to 6.2 in June--the lowest level since July 2008--from a revised 8.7 in May.

According to a report from Bankrate.com, the average closing cost across the United States rose 6 percent over the year to $2,402. Origination fees increased 8 percent to $1,730--accounting for the bulk of the increase in closing costs--while third-party fees rose 1 percent to $672. In terms of highest average closing costs, Hawaii took the top spot with an average of $2,919. It was joined in the top five by Alaska ($2,675), South Carolina ($2,658), California ($2,639), and New Mexico ($2,566).

Adding to concerns of a new housing bubble, lenders reported an increase in demand for non-traditional and sub-prime mortgage loans and that they’ve responded to that demand by easing standards, the Federal Reserve reported Monday in its quarterly Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey. According to the survey, a net 3.1 percent of lenders responding said demand for ""non-traditional"" residential loans increased from the survey released three months ago and a net 25 percent of respondents said demand for loans from sub-prime borrowers was higher than it was in May.

CLARIFIRE CONNECTOR, an application from Florida-based Clarifire, can now be used by mortgage servicers for integration with Fannie Mae’s Servicing Management Default Underwriter (SMDU). Integration to SMDU uses CLARIFIRE QUICK to import case data in bulk and CLARIFIRE OPTIMIZER, to trigger the decisioning of multiple loans at one time.

Prices rose and inventory declined in July on an annual basis, according to the State of the Real Estate Market report released Monday by Movoto Real Estate. However, on a monthly basis, inventory increased and list price remained the same, signifying the market is reaching equilibrium, according to Movoto. Movoto also said the steady list price from June to July is to be expected based on historical data. ""[T]he fact that prices did not increase from June to July is seasonal,"" Movoto said.