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Mortgage application volume fell 5% last week on a seasonally adjusted basis, as refinance applications showed a decline for the third straight week, according to new figures released by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

What Trepp LLC calls the first decline in commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquencies in over a year suggests that the industry is in a “choppy” market where there is no specific improvement in fundamentals market-wide but some select trophy loan resolutions are moving forward.

Flagstar Bank has closed its $400 million public offering, which included nearly 116 million shares of common stock priced at $1 per share. At the same time, the company said it is selling $474 million of non-performing first mortgage loans at a loss.

The number of vacant homes for sale declined 2.4% in the third quarter from the same period a year ago, according to the Census Bureau, but the housing market still suffers from a glut of 1.93 million vacant homes, which is exerting downward pressure on values.

It's important for seniors to plan for all the changes that come with retirement, but one personal finance expert says an area that deserves special attention is how their spending must change in order to keep them financially stable throughout their golden years. But among his suggestions for seniors to help manage spending is to consider getting a reverse mortgage.

Ally Financial Inc. on Wednesday reported a third-quarter profit of $269 million, its third consecutive quarter in the black, driven by strong results in both its mortgage banking, and automotive finance units.

Freddie Mac posted a $4.1 billion loss in the third quarter — after paying a $1.6 billion dividend to the U.S. Treasury — but also saw its overall "serious" delinquency rate fall to 3.8%.

The National League of Cities and its constituency group, Women in Municipal Government, are asking that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, whose creation is currently underway, have an office of elderly affairs. This is because seniors are being targeted for financial exploitation, they declared.

Investors had a strong positive reaction to The Radian Group's announcement of a third quarter profit of $112 million as they drove the company's stock price up nearly 15% on Tuesday morning.

The U.S. homeownership rate remained unchanged at 66.9% in the third quarter, but the foreclosure crisis is hitting minorities harder than whites, according to new government figures released Tuesday morning.