The Lede

CNBC, Sept. 1, 2017--Rebecca Ungarino In a week that's already seen a slew of healthy economic data releases, housing appears to be a blemish on an overall strong economic backdrop.

NPR, Sept. 1, 2017--Pam FesslerThe White House estimates about 100,000 houses were affected by Hurricane Harvey. Based on the experience of people whose homes were damaged after Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy, it could be months, even years, before flood victims will be able to return home.

Los Angeles Times, Sept. 1, 2017--Tiffany HsuIn the upper echelons of the Southland residential real estate market, financing isn't much easier - it just involves more eager-to-please private bankers, vast reserves of cash and massive, multimillion-dollar loans.

Wall Street Journal, Sept. 3, 2017--Laura Kusisto, Valerie Bauerlein (subscription)Not even two weeks ago, this city had one of the weakest apartment markets in the country with tens of thousands of vacant units. Now landlords say prospective renters are lining up outside their doors and some have almost no units left.

National Mortgage Professional, Sept. 1, 2017--Phil HallCoreLogic has updated its residential loss estimates for Hurricane Harvey, placing the estimated insured flood loss for homes in the 70-county area in Texas and Louisiana affected by the storm between $6.5 billion and $9.5 billion.

National Mortgage News, Sept. 1, 2017--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)Ellie Mae, looking to expand the analytical capabilities of its customer-relationship management technology, is purchasing Velocify for $128 million in cash.

HousingWire, Sept. 1, 2017--Ben LaneGabe Dalporto, who served as the LendingTree's CFO since 2015 and who previously served as the company's chief marketing officer from March 2011 to June 2015, was promoted to the company's board of directors. Replacing Dalporto as CFO will be J.D. Moriarty, who joined the company earlier this year as SVP of corporate development.

UExpress, Sept. 1, 2017--Lew SichelmanHousing choices are going to the dogs. Literally. That's the gist of a new Harris Poll, which found that a third of millennial-aged first-time homebuyers made their decision of where to buy based largely on the desire to have a better space for their mutts.

National Mortgage News, Sept. 1, 2017--Brian Collins (subscription)Nondepository mortgage lenders and brokers trimmed their payrolls by 500 employees in July, bringing total employment in the sector to 340,800, from 341,300 in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

Mortgage Daily, Sept. 1, 2017Past due payments on securitized commercial real estate loans turned lower as the wall of maturities subsided. The improvement was led by industrial loans, said Morningstar Credit Ratings LLC.

Mortgage Daily, Sept. 1, 2017Originators of home-equity conversion mortgages generated 4,927 endorsements by FHA during August, the busiest month since April.

Spokane Spokesman (Wash.), Sept. 3, 2017--Tom KellyHigh tech cannot replace all customer service.