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Another major bank took a hit as the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) filed a lawsuit against Credit Suisse Securities over the sale of faulty mortgage-backed securities (MBS). Credit Suisse isn't the only one that's been targeted by NCUA-the administration has also gone after JPMorgan Securities, Goldman Sachs, Wachovia, and Barclay's, to name a few.

The number of markets listed on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and First American Title's Improving Markets Index (IMI) broke the triple-digit mark in October, NAHB reported. The index identifies metro areas that have shown improvement from their respective troughs in housing permits, employment, and house prices for at least six straight months. A total of 103 housing markets across the country qualified for the list in October, up from 99 in September and the highest level since the list started a year ago, NAHB said.

On Friday, Treasury released the Making Home Affordable Program report, which details performance from the nine largest servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable (MHA) program. The most recent August servicer report provided data on servicers’ ability to reach out to delinquent homeowners who are at least 60 days behind to inform them of the program. In addition, the report revealed servicers' performance when converting eligible trials into permanent modifications.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is asking for the public's input on a white paper it released Thursday containing proposals for a common securitization platform and a model Pooling and Servicing Agreement.

If current trends persist, this year may be the first year since 2006 the housing market records an annual price increase, according to a report released Thursday by Trulia. At the current rate of change, the year could close with a 4 percent price increase. Overall, asking prices rose 2.5 percent year-over-year in September and were up 0.5 percent month-over-month. Meanwhile, rent prices not only continue to rise but also are rising faster than home prices.

The nation's unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent in September–the lowest level since January 2009—as the economy added a below-average 114,000 jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)reported Friday. The 0.3 percentage point improvement in the unemployment rate is the largest since January 2011, when the unemployment rate dropped from 9.4 percent to 9.1 percent.

Residential mortgage servicer Vericrest Financial, Inc., announced Thursday that it has relocated its Texas Center of Excellence from Dallas to Irving, Texas. Vericrest's Texas center houses the company's corporate functions, as well as asset management, business development, technology, and servicing operations. The company says its plans for future expansion could create potentially hundreds of new jobs.

For the second week in a row, mortgage rates hit new record lows, and for the first time since mid-October 2009, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is lower than the 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM). The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for the week ending October 4 was 3.36 percent, according to Freddie Mac. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage also fell from the previous week, dropping to 2.69 percent. Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist at Freddie Mac, attributes the falling rates to ""mortgage securities purchases by the Federal Reserve and indicators of a weakening economy.""

Neither Barack Obama or Mitt Romney has seemed particularly enthusiastic about discussing housing on the national stage, but viewers of Wednesday's debates got to see a brief skirmish between the two candidates about regulation for Wall Street and the mortgage industry. While some viewers complained about debate's narrow focus, they were at least given reassurance that housing hasn't been eclipsed completely by other issues.

Performance on vintage prime residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) continues to degrade, Fitch Ratings revealed in a report. The ratings agency announced a downgrade on 6 percent of its rated prime RMBS classes, many of which fall into the pre-2005 category. Fitch attributed the downgrade to increased delinquency rates in certain pools.