As widely expected, the Fed announced that it will begin in October to reduce the quantity of Treasury and mortgage securities on its balance sheet.

Of much greater interest to investors, the outlook for the pace of future rate hikes was a little faster than expected. Roughly 75% of Fed officials forecast one more rate hike this year and three rate hikes in 2018. August existing home sales decreased 2% from July to an annual rate of 5.35M, below the consensus of 5.45M, and the lowest level since August 2016. Existing home sales were 0.2% higher than a year ago. Total inventory of existing homes available for sale fell 2% to a 4.2-month supply, and it was 7% lower than a year ago. The median existing-home price was 6% higher than a year ago.

While overall housing starts fell for a second straight month, single-family building was good news for new construction. Of course, that was before Hurricanes Harvey and Irma barreled into Texas and Florida.

Housing starts for privately-owned homes fell minimally to 1.18 million units in August. That's 0.8 percent below the revised rate of 1.19 million in July, reported the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

If you trust the word of Freddie Mac—one of the nation's foremost players in the housing industry, the time to buy a home is now. And you'd better act fast.

According to Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the interest rate on 30-year mortgages held steady this week—but it's not likely that trend will continue. In fact, Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac's chief economist, predicts mortgage rates “could see an increase in next week's survey.”

Figuring out whether you will be approved for a mortgage is a curious process. It turns out that a big bank account and even a high credit score may not be enough to seal the deal.

Lenders are concerned about the balance of risk and reward. In an ideal situation, lenders like to see no risk, but in practice they have to deal with the real world. As this is written that means interest rates around 4 percent and borrowers who finance with little down.