Yearly Archives: 2016

The White House is announcing the expansion of the Opportunity Project and the launch of twenty-nine new digital tools built by companies and non-profit organizations to increase access to opportunity in communities across the country.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today unveiled an innovative partnership with community development organizations from across the country, providing $401 million ofCommunity Facilities program funds to recipients with a track record of successful programs to help reduce poverty in some of the nation's poorest and most isolated rural communities.

Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) announced today a strategic vision to work together to develop, deliver and promote the Investor Confidence Project (ICP) as the premier global underwriting standard for energy efficiency projects. ICP will join GBCI’s portfolio of credentials and certifications, and the organizations will work together to accelerate investment in energy efficiency.

Get the latest real estate trends, insights and forecasts at the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) 2016 Fall Meeting, set for October 24-27 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. The meeting will highlight successful business strategies used by rising stars and experienced professionals to thrive in the rapidly changing industry; and it will include programming highlighting Dallas as highly livable, sustainable and globally competitive city.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced the appointment of 34 members to the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee (REEEAC). Initially established in 2010, the REEEAC is comprised of senior-level private-sector representatives that advise the Secretary of Commerce on the development and administration of programs and policies to expand the export competitiveness of U.S. renewable energy and energy efficiency products and services.

Realtors® raised concerns earlier this year when the Federal Housing Administration’s “Single Family Housing Policy Handbook” included new requirements for appraisers to operate and physically observe appliances on a property during the completion of an appraisal. This inspector-type role far exceeded previously understood appraiser duties and had the potential to make appraisals longer and more costly for consumers.

The Alliance to Save Energy is pleased to announce it has hired Ben Evans to its leadership team as Vice President of communications. Evans has nearly 20 years of experience in politics, including as a reporter. He comes to the Alliance from the U.S. biodiesel trade association, where he was director of public affairs. Previously he was a political reporter in the Washington bureau of The Associated Press and lead energy reporter at Congressional Quarterly

The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (the Law Center) is concerned that legislation to create a Middle Income Housing Tax Credit (MIHTC), introduced by Senator Ron Wyden on September 22, would focus scarce federal resources on middle income renters - rather than on extremely low income renters - who face the greatest need

Mortgage applications increased 2.9 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 30, 2016.

NAIOP has released the latest Sentiment Index based on a survey of member developers, owners and investors on whether their 12-month outlook for commercial real estate development is positive, neutral or negative.

UL Environment, a business division of UL (Underwriters Laboratories), and the International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI™) today announced a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two organizations in an effort to drive public awareness of, and increase global demand for, healthier buildings. The organizations will collaborate to limit exposure to harmful chemicals for occupants of buildings while promoting holistic approaches to designing, constructing and operating healthier buildings

U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro will lead the U.S. delegation to the United Nations (UN) Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) in Quito, Ecuador from October 17-20, 2016. The Conference is intended to renew commitment to sustainable urban development, address poverty and identify and address emerging global challenges

As outlined in President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today proposed utility benchmarking of water and energy in its portfolio of public and assisted, as well as newly-insured, multifamily housing.  This new ‘utility benchmarking’ initiative would apply to approximately 2.2 million units across several categories of HUD-assisted affordable housing: developments with Project Rental Assistance Contracts, multifamily properties with mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) with more than 250 public housing units

Home Innovation Research Labs entered into an exciting new cooperation with ICC Evaluation Service (ICC-ES), the premier building product evaluation/listing agency in North America, to better serve the manufacturers of building and plumbing products seeking Evaluation Reports or listing/labeling services

during the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) International Summit held at the 2016 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) announced a new technology organization called arc.

GRESB, the leading global provider of environmental, social and governance (ESG) data for real assets, today released the 2016 update to the GRESB Green Bond Guidelines for the Real Estate Sector. These Guidelines build on the Green Bond Principles with specific focus on real estate sector market participants originating and/or investing in green property bonds.

The Boulder Group has released its 3rd Quarter 2016 Net Lease Research Report. The report provides comprehensive numbers and analysis of the net lease property market.

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) are pleased to present the Washington Department of Financial Institutions (Department or DFI) with CSBS Banking Accreditation and CSBS/AARMR Mortgage Accreditation. These reaccreditations certify that the DFI maintains the highest standards in banking and mortgage supervision. Scott Jarvis serves as Director of the Washington Department of Financial Institutions