Yearly Archives: 2016

The Housing and Insurance Subcommittee held a hearing on Wednesday to discuss necessary changes to the appraisal industry. “Appraisals are one of the cornerstones of the home-buying process.  Issues that impact appraisers also impact nearly every American buying or selling a home, in rural and urban areas; in high- and low-income neighborhoods,” explained Subcommittee Chairman Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO).

The Commercial and Industrial (C&I) sector represents an extraordinary opportunity to deploy solar energy, but has experienced relatively slow growth due to a wide range of complexities in ownership structure, creditworthiness of the end-consumer, and other issues. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and an array of industry experts – convened as the SEIA Finance Initiative and its Commercial Real Estate working group – investigated the opportunity, associated barriers, and potential solutions of this underserved market.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced that it is returning the Housing Authority of the City of Lafayette (HACL) to local control, five years after HUD assumed day-to-day administration of the once-troubled agency.  HUD took over operational control of the HACL in March of 2011 for substantial default of the agency’s obligations including financial mismanagement, misuse of funds, and a lack of leadership.

The author and man who “repairs the fabric of cities,” Jonathan F.P. Rose, will serve as the Plenary Keynote Speaker during Building Innovation 2017: The National Institute of Building Sciences Fifth Annual Conference and Expo, to be held January 9-12, in Washington, D.C.

As part of the Interior Department’s reform agenda to create a cleaner and more sustainable energy future, and in furtherance of the Obama Administration’s Climate Action Plan, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today announced the Methane and Waste Prevention Rule – a final rule that will reduce the wasteful release of natural gas into the atmosphere from oil and gas operations on public and Indian lands.

The Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held a legislative hearing on H.R. 866 (Rep. Diane Black), the “Federal Lands Freedom Act of 2015.” This bill will delegate control over responsible energy exploration to states.

After the formal adoption of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) manual, Distributed Energy Resources Rate Design and Compensation, the solar industry and advocates released the following responses:

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today blasted Representative Mark Meadows (R-NC) for wasting no time in introducing a bill yesterday to use congressional power to interfere with and alter the District of Columbia’s local occupational licensing laws. Meadows’ bill (H.R. 6312) targets occupational licensing laws in the District, military bases, and certain national parks. The bill also requires the D.C. Council to create a legislative committee or subcommittee on occupational regulations. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced an identical bill (S. 3158) in the Senate earlier this year

Seven U.S. courthouses are among the 17 federal buildings honored in this year’s General Services Administration Design Awards. Representing a mix of both modern and traditional architecture, these courthouses were honored based on a wide variety of criteria—ranging from functionality and public benefit to design and sustainability, as well as their aesthetic appeal

The Federal Housing Administration’s just released (link is external) actuarial report shows that the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund is on a steady financial trajectory, a finding the National Association of Realtors® believes is an opportunity to make FHA’s low-down-payment mortgage option available to an even broader swath of borrowers

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today released her biennial letter to new members of the House and Senate, offering useful information on why they might want to live in one of “the world’s most beautiful and pleasant cities” and inviting them to cosponsor her District of Columbia statehood bill.  The letter also discussed how D.C. is “the only city on the congressional agenda.” 

Bill Brown, a second generation Realtor® from Alamo, California was installed today as 2017 president of the National Association of Realtors® at the association’s Board of Directors meeting during the 2016 REALTORS® Conference & Expo. Brown has been active in real estate for 36 years and is the founder of Investment Properties, a division of the family real estate business started by his father, William H. Brown, in 1964, which focuses on the sale of apartment buildings to both institutional and private capital investors.

Earlier today, HUD released its 2016 Annual Report to Congress on the financial status of the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund (MMIF). The report finds that the value of the MMIF, which funds FHA's single-family homeownership and reverse mortgage loans, grew by $3.8 billion to $27.6 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2016, its fourth consecutive annual increase.

David H. Stevens, CMB, President & CEO Mortgage Bankers Association, issued the following statement regarding FHA's Annual Report to Congress. "FHA and its leadership should be commended for the steps they have taken to improve the value of the FHA MMI fund for single family mortgages since the economic crisis, at the same time they have provided access to homeownership for hundreds of thousands of low and moderate income Americans. The core strength of FHA's forward book of business is representative of growing stability of the housing market nationally

Pat G. Kaplan, a Realtor® from Portland, Oregon has received the National Association of Realtors® 2016 Distinguished Service Award. The honor is presented yearly to no more than two of NAR’s more than 1.2 million members. Winners were recognized at the REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Orlando, Florida.

In some metropolitan areas of the country, families who depend upon the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program have limited choices about where they can find suitable affordable rental housing.  Often, their housing choices are constrained and higher opportunity neighborhoods remain out of reach because of the current method of calculating their rental assistance. 

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Builder Application Survey (BAS) data for October 2016 shows mortgage applications for new home purchases increased 8 percent relative to October 2015. Compared to September 2016, applications decreased by 2 percent. This change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns