Yearly Archives: 2016

Mortgage applications increased 2.5 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending December 16, 2016.

This holiday season, many will be tempted to turn to payday loans, auto title loans, or high-cost installment loans to purchase gifts. In fact, payday lenders make their greatest profits this time of year. With some of these loans carrying triple-digit interest rates, consumers can find themselves trapped in a cycle of debt, paying for gifts long after the holiday spirit has faded.

EIA presents the findings of Annual Energy Outlook 2017 with projections of U.S. energy supply, demand, and prices including cases that address alternative assumptions regarding U.S. economic growth rates, domestic energy resources and technology, world oil prices, and the Clean Power Plan.

The Alliance to Save Energy announced Tuesday that its board of directors has named Gil C. Quiniones, chief executive officer of the New York Power Authority (NYPA), as Alliance chairman and elected Andrew McAllister, a commissioner on the California Energy Commission, as a new board memb

JLL’s Americas Markets Chief Operating Officer Betsy Peck was recently named to the Executive Leadership Honor Roll of OnBoard. Based in Atlanta, OnBoard is a non-profit organization with a goal to demonstrate the impact women can make in the boardroom and in executive leadership. OnBoard is a catalyst to increase the number of women in the boardroom for companies in Georgia. More...

“McMasion” is a term that came into existence in the mid-1990s to describe certain types of housing. It was not, and is not, a term of endearment but rather derision. Most suburban areas have a development or two that exemplifies this type of house that share several commonalities. That being said, there was an appeal to the marketplace that included these features

Mayor Bill de Blasio and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro today announced in partnership with T-Mobile that families living in public housing in the Bronx will receive 5,000 new tablet computers connected to T-Mobile’s high-speed data network. As part of this commitment, T-Mobile will also become a national stakeholder in the Obama Administration’s ConnectHome initiative. Beginning in January, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) will distribute the tablets – valued at $159 each – to qualifying families with children under 19 years old.

Circle K, Couche-Tard’s largest and most international convenience store brand, will double the size of its Charlotte office at Coliseum Centre. JLL Executive Vice President Bryan White and Managing Director Jim Thorp led the site selection process on behalf of Circle K.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Census Bureau jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for November 2016: Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,201,000. This is 4.7 percent (±1.1%) below the revised October rate of 1,260,000 and is 6.6 percent (±2.6%) below the November 2015 estimate of 1,286,000.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and U.S. Deputy Secretary Mike Connor announced the final Record of Decision for Glen Canyon Dam's Long-term Experimental and Management Plan (LTEMP). The Glen Canyon Dam’s reservoir is located in both Arizona and Utah. Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement

I am signing the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act into law. It authorizes vital water projects across the country to restore watersheds, improve waterways and flood control, and improve drinking water infrastructure. The law also authorizes $170 million for communities facing drinking water emergencies, including funding for Flint, Michigan, to recover from the lead contamination in its drinking water system.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Deputy Secretary of the Interior Michael L. Connor today celebrated milestones for two collaborative efforts the Interior Department has spearheaded to help secure sustainable water supplies for future generations.  They made the announcements at the Colorado River Water Users Association meeting in Las Vegas

Thirty-four states added construction jobs between November 2015 and November 2016 while construction employment increased in 29 states and the District of Columbia during the past month, according to an analysis of Labor Department data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said even as firms in many starts are adding jobs amid growing residential and public sector construction investments, the number of states adding construction jobs for the year has declined compared to a year ago

A sharp decline in multifamily starts pushed overall housing production down 18.7 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.09 million units, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department. Overall permit issuance was also down 4.7 percent.

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes jumped seven points to a level of 70 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This is the highest reading since July 2005

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 President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) as interior secretary

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) yesterday released its final “Duty to Serve” rule requiring the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to support lending for housing for low-income families in three underserved segments of the housing finance market: manufactured housing, affordable housing preservation, and rural areas. The rule fulfills a statutory mandate placed on the GSEs by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

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 President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of former Texas Governor Rick Perry as the nation’s next secretary of energy

U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Housing Service Administrator Tony Hernandez today visited North Carolina to tour a USDA-funded rental complex and highlight two decades of USDA investments and partnerships to build and renovate affordable rural rental housing for families across the country