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Home prices rose annually and monthly in May, according to Zillow. In fact, 29 of the 30 largest metropolitan areas covered by Zillow's Home Value Index experienced rising prices over the 12-month period ending in May, and 15 of the 30 posted double-digit increases. Zillow expects prices will continue their upward trajectory in the short-run with a 4.1 percent increase over the following 12 months. However, as inventory increases and interest rates rise, ""some demand may also ebb,"" said Stan Humphries, Zillow's chief economist.

Mortgage rates eased off a bit this week as the markets awaited word from the Federal Reserve on potential changes to its monetary policy. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.93 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending June 20, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey--down from 3.98 percent the week before. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.66 percent. The 15-year FRM averaged 3.04 percent (0.7 point), down from 3.10 percent the prior week.

While the level of search activity from international house hunters changed little year-over-year, Trulia found trends are changing among foreigners who shop for homes in the U.S. Among the home searches conducted on Trulia from April 2012 to March 2013, search activity from internationals accounted for 4.3 percent of all searches, down slightly from 4.4 percent a year ago.

As the foreclosure process drags on in certain states, sometimes the homeowner will beat the lender and leave before a foreclosure sale date is set. According to RealtyTrac's estimate, 167,680 properties in foreclosure have been abandoned by their owner. The total represents 20 percent of all foreclosures. Adding to this total are the more than 540,000 banked-owned properties still waiting to be sold to a third party.

Existing-home sales rose a solid 4.2 percent in May to an annual sales rate of 5.18 million, the highest level since November 2009, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. Economists had expected existing-home sales to hit 5.0 million. The median price of an existing home jumped $16,200 (8.4 percent) for the month and was up $27,700 (15.4 percent) from May 2012. The inventory of homes for sale rose to 2.22 million from 2.15 million in April.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance jumped a surprising 18,000 to 354,000, for the week ending June 15, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected a more modest increase to 340,000 from the prior week. Claims filings for the week ending June 8 were revised up to 336,000 from the originally reported 334,000.

With a somewhat upbeat assessment of the economy, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) said Wednesday it would continue its policy of near-zero interest rates and its $85-billion-per-month bond-buying program. In the statement issued at the conclusion of its two-day meeting, the committee said it ""sees the downside risks to the outlook for the economy and the labor market as having diminished since the fall,"" a more optimistic assessment than May 1 when the Committee said it ""continues to see downside risks to the economic outlook.""

Double-digit price increases in some markets hard-hit by the housing crisis prompt the question, are we experiencing another housing bubble? While several factors are combining to push prices up right now, CoreLogic analysts say we are not headed into anther bubble. During the bubble leading to the recent housing crisis, real home prices increased 62 percent. When the bubble burst, prices fell 47 percent, according to CoreLogic.

After staging a turnaround last year, the housing market is continuing on the road to stabilization in 2013, RE/MAX said in its National Housing Report for May. Of the 52 metros surveyed last month, 45 reported higher sales than May 2012, with 30 posting double-digit gains. For all homes sold in May, the median price was $185,000, a 4.2 percent gain over April and a 10.8 percent increase over May 2012. Reduced inventory continues to be a concern, however, though recent monthly changes have been promising.

St. Louis County in Minnesota shed the traditional method of paper-based recording to adopt e-recording through Simplifile.