Yearly Archives: 2016

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) recognized a total of 63 mortgage professionals -- 35 from the residential market segment and 28 from the commercial/multifamily market segment -- in a graduation ceremony for MBA's Future Leaders Program held at MBA's Annual Convention & Expo in Boston, MA

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the owners, builder and designer of the Ashlynn Estates in Ellensburg, Washington, alleging that the property was designed and constructed without complying with the Fair Housing Act’s (FHA) accessibility requirements. Situated near Central Washington University, each of the three buildings on the property have nine individually keyed units with their own bathroom and desk as well as a shared living space, a communal kitchen and two communal laundry rooms.

The Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience released its “Resilience Opportunities” report, describing key Administration accomplishments and highlighting opportunities for Federal agencies and stakeholders to work together on a shared climate resilience agenda

The quickening pace of home sales over the past year included a small rebound from two key segments of buyers who have been missing in action in recent years: first-time buyers and single women.

The District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency issued $6.10 million in long term and $10.73 million in short term DCHFA tax exempt obligations in acquisition and construction financing to build Deanwood Hills Apartments (5201 Hayes Street Northeast) in Ward 7’s Deanwood neighborhood.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Interior Michael L. Connor approved the first step in an effort to transfer public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management in Riverside County to the National Park Service. The proposed transfer would involve lands that were part of the Joshua Tree National Monument when it was originally designated in 1936. This transfer would provide contiguous management of important lands and resources in the Eagle Mountain area next to Joshua Tree National Park.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) made the surprise discovery that a metabolic pathway to take up CO2 exists and functions in a microorganism capable of breaking down and fermenting cellulosic biomass to produce biofuels including hydrogen and hydrocarbons.

Ed Brady, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Bloomington, Ill., today issued the following statement on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s proposed regulations regarding floodplain management

Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Office of Public-Private Partnerships (OP3) hosted DC Builds!, a half-day forum that brought together public officials, potential partners, policy experts, and residents to discuss the state of the District’s infrastructure.

In accordance with the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, HUD published a Notice in the Oct. 28, 2016, Federal Register identifying Federal buildings and other real property HUD has reviewed for suitability for use to assist the homeless. The properties were reviewed using information provided to HUD by Federal landholding agencies or by GSA regarding their inventories of excess or surplus property.

The Alliance to Save Energy’s Board of Directors on Wednesday elected three new members to help lead the organization’s mission of achieving a more energy efficient future. The newly elected directors, who represent top business and utility entities, include

As the area reflects on the three-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, many homeowners are still trying to return to some kind of normal life. A coalition has formed to assist one of those families, and to build them a home able to withstand future storms or disasters

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced today that it forecasts $1.10 trillion in purchase mortgage originations during calendar year 2017, an 11 percent increase from 2016.  In contrast, MBA anticipates refinance originations will decrease by 40 percent, resulting in refinance mortgage originations of $529 billion.  In total, mortgage originations are expected to decrease to $1.63 trillion in 2017 from $1.89 trillion in 2016.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (Berkeley Lab) will work with four other DOE national labs in a new effort designed to accelerate the development and deployment of innovative, high-performance materials for photovoltaic modules to lower the cost of electricity generated by solar power while increasing field lifetime

The Mortgage Bankers Association Political Action Committee (MORPAC) today awarded James Deitch, CMB, CPA; CEO of Teraverde Financial, with the 2016 Schumacher-Bolduc Award at the association's Annual Convention and Expo held in Boston. The award was given to Mr. Deitch in recognition of his outstanding work on behalf of MBA's political advocacy programs and the mortgage lending industry

Mayor Muriel Bowser joined Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Channing Phillips, Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, and Todd Lee, Director of the DC Housing Finance Agency, to celebrate the dedication of the Channing E. Phillips Homes, a new affordable housing project financed with $18 million in District funding.

American wind power gained tremendous momentum in the third quarter of 2016 as states, utilities and ratepayers from coast to coast increased their investment in the energy source America agrees on

Rodrigo Lopez, CMB, Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and Executive Chairman of NorthMarq Capital, today delivered the following remarks at the association's Annual Convention and Expo in Boston, MA