The Lede

Newsweek, Sept. 17, 2015--McGrath Goodman, Leah This summer, Americans raced to buy and refinance their homes, with new mortgage applications climbing more than 20 percent from June to mid-August, says Joel Kan, associate vice president of industry surveys and forecasting for the Mortgage Bankers Association. This, he said, is allowing some Americans to regain a bit of financial footing.

MortgageOrb, Sept. 17, 2015 John Robbins, CMB, former chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association and founder of the American Residential Mortgage Corp., has joined the advisory board at EquityKey, a San Diego-based home finance company.

Associated Press, Sept. 17, 2015 Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage edged up to 3.91 percent from 3.90 percent a week earlier. The rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 3.11 percent from 3.10 percent.

National Mortgage Professional, Sept. 17, 2015--Hall, Phil In a bold challenge to what has recently become a widely accepted theory across the housing industry, Zillow is insisting that the record level of student debt carried by recent college graduates is having no impact on one's ability to obtain a mortgage.

Wall Street Journal, Sept. 17, 2015--Hilsenrath, Jon The Federal Reserve left short-term interest rates unchanged after weeks of market-churning debate at the central bank about whether it was time to end an era of near-zero rates in acknowledgment of the stronger domestic U.S. economy and job market.

HousingWire, Sept. 17, 2015--Swanson, Brena Lenders witnessed an easing in lending standards across all loan types over the third quarter, according to Fannie Mae's third quarter Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey.

Reuters, Sept. 17, 2015--Mutikani, Lucia The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in eight weeks, suggesting the labor market continued to strengthen despite the recent tightening in financial market conditions.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's 2015 Originations DataBook is coming; pre-order by September 30 and save $100.