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A leading housing regulator on Monday announced changes to a government refinancing program that could help up to one million homeowners whose homes are worth less than their mortgage.

Homes were built in September at the fastest pace in 17 months, a hopeful sign for the struggling housing market.

The struggling U.S. housing market is expected to fall a little further as it searches for a bottom, but home prices are seen ticking up modestly in 2012, according to a Reuters poll released on Friday.

Foreclosures declined in more than 84% of U.S. metro areas during the first half of the year, according to the latest report from RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed properties.

New single-family home sales unexpectedly fell in June, but a sharp rise in prices and declining supply suggested the market for new houses was starting to stabilize, a government report showed on Tuesday.

Applications for home mortgages surged last week, racking up the biggest increase in four months on a flood of refinancing demand as interest rates remained low, an industry group said on Wednesday.

Builders broke ground on more single-family homes and apartments in June, helping the battered construction industry gain a little life after a dismal spring.

The Commerce Department's report on new home construction is likely to show that multifamily properties is the bright spot in the beleaguered market.

Apartment landlords continue to have the best of all worlds as rents go higher and vacancies fall.

Home prices in major U.S. cities have risen for the first time in eight months, boosted by an annual flurry of spring buyers.