Home prices are showing continued increases, rising 12.3 percent year over year in July for the 10- and 20-city composites. And state coincident indexes increased in 40 states in the past month.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers edged up by 0.1 percent in August compared with July. Over the last 12 months, the index has risen 1.5 percent. The NAHB reported that builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes held unchanged in September with a reading of 58 for that month. The Congressional Budget Office also reported that the federal government needs to shave $2 trillion off its spending over the next 10 years to stabilize long-term public debt.