In September, for the fifth straight month, the Pending Home Sales Index hovered near its benchmark value of 100, registering 99.5.

Pricing for both conforming and FHA mortgage rates improved between Monday and Friday, with the majority of gains occurring late in the week.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of new homes sold jumped to 389,000 units in September 2012 on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis.

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged within its current target range of 0.000-0.250 percent Wednesday.

The National Association of REALTORS® reports Existing Home Sales at 4.75 million units in September 2012 on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis, an 11 percent increase from one year ago.

Using data compiled by real estate market data firm Altos Research, Forbes Magazine recently presented America's most expensive ZIP codes for 2012.

Mortgage markets worsened last week, taking mortgage rates higher. The Federal Open Market Committee meets this week.

The credit score average for approved mortgage applicant was 750 last month. From The Today Show from NBC, here are basic tips to maximize your FICO.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis, Single-Family Housing Starts rose to 603,000 last month, an 11 percent increase from the month prior and the highest reading in more than 4 years.

Tuesday, the National Association of Homebuilders reported its monthly Housing Market Index (HMI) at 41, a one-tick improvement from September and the highest HMI value since June 2006 -- a span of 77 months.

Home purchasing power is up 6.6% since the start of the year.

Mortgage markets improved slightly last week. With a dearth of new U.S. economic data due for release, investors turned their collective attention to the Europe, China, and the Middle East. U.S. mortgage rates fell slightly in the holiday-shortened week.