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Community banks should be exempt from pending regulations on high-cost mortgages since they were not responsible for the mortgage crises, the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) stated in a release. In July, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced it was proposing rules for high-cost mortgages, which would be determined based on interest rates, points and fees, or prepayment penalties.

In the GSE's most recent U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook, Freddie Mac VP and chief economist Frank Nothaft looked at energy costs and their potential effects on the economic recovery. The U.S. Department of Energy reported that gas prices averaged $3.84 per gallon on September 3, up about $0.50 over the past two months. While rising energy costs can divert spending away from consumer goods, Nothaft said he isn't especially worried.

House lawmakers overcame election-year gridlock on Tuesday to punt their version of a bill that would shore up the Federal Housing Administration, whose embattled Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund falls short of the capital required by law. The lower chamber passed the Federal Housing Administration Fiscal Solvency Act by a sweeping vote of 402 -7.

Though the Great Recession officially ended three years ago, low aggregate income is keeping Americans from climbing out of the income slump that resulted. While real average earnings (per person) trended downward or stayed flat during the previous four business cycles, Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research group found that average earnings actually increased from pre-recession levels during the Great Recession.

About 600,000 borrowers rose above negative equity in the second quarter of 2012, CoreLogic reported Wednesday. According to the company's analysis, 10.8 million, or 22.3 percent, of residential properties with a mortgage remained underwater for the second quarter of 2012. Even though negative equity is said to be driving factor for default, 84.9 percent of underwater borrowers managed to stay current on their payments.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac new representations and warranty guidelines for lenders Tuesday to clarify lenders' risk regarding repurchase claims and define steps lenders can take to challenge repurchase claims they feel are without grounds. Under the new guidelines, if a loan is current for 36 consecutive months, lenders ""will be relieved of certain repurchase obligations,"" according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Surprised by the various costs and subscription fees that Realtors and other professionals must pay for website package services, Kurt Lynn created WebsiteBox, a single-purchase $99 real estate website platform.

After bailing out American International Group, Inc. (AIG) at a price tag of $182.3 billion, Treasury and the Federal Reserve are expecting to see their full investment back, plus a return. On Monday, Treasury estimated a return of $12.4 billion after selling about $18 billion in shares. On Tuesday, Treasury then announced it expects to see an additional $2.7 billion.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) froze the assets of a San Diego-based firm and its owner over accusations of real estate fraud.

ForeclosureRadar released its Foreclosure Report for August on Monday, revealing that foreclosure starts fell dramatically during the month. The company's coverage area includes counties in California, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon. In all states except Washington, foreclosure starts either fell drastically or stayed fairly flat month-over-month, with Oregon seeing an 80.6 percent drop in starts.