Yearly Archives: 2017

Wrapping up this week, Delta and Aeroméxico volunteers built the 250th home in Mexico as a part of the 14th Global Build with long-standing partner Habitat for Humanity. A supporter of local Habitat organizations since 1995, Delta became a national partner in 2006. Through the national partnership, Delta volunteers have helped build or rehabilitate a total of 253 homes in 12 countries around the world.

Granger MacDonald, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Kerrville, Texas, today issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Commerce Department's final decision to impose countervailing and anti-dumping duties averaging 20.83 percent on Canadian lumber imports

David H. Stevens, CMB, President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), testified today before the House Financial Services Committee Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance. His full written testimony is available here. Below is Stevens' oral testimony, as prepared for delivery

A number of cities and states across the United States have begun to recognize that the current code-based mechanisms in place do not provide the means to help them achieve their energy performance goals for buildings. Codes largely focus on design requirements for a limited number of building characteristics, but do not require verification that the design results in actual, measurable energy savings.

Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors, a nationally-recognized real estate brokerage and advisory firm specializing in retail property sales, announced today the group has launched its annual Movember fundraising campaign. This year marks Hanley Investment Group’s seventh year in a row joining the global movement to raise awareness and critical funds for men’s health, by growing a moustache in November.

The Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance held its second hearing on private sector perspectives of sustainable housing finance reform. "We're holding this subcommittee hearing today because of the fact that while the most important factor in reforming the housing finance system are homebuyers, it is vitally important that the way we reform the housing

Tax reform discussions took a major step forward this afternoon as leaders on the House Ways and Means Committee released its legislative proposal for an overhaul of the American tax code. The National Association of Realtors® believes the bill represents a tax increase on middle-class homeowners.

Following months of hearings and input from stakeholders, Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) released discussion draft legislation to overhaul federal lands energy policy. The legislation reforms existing regulatory frameworks for energy development in America’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and the vast onshore acreage under federal ownership.

Nearly a decade after the federal government took control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac through conservatorship, little progress has been made in finalizing housing finance policy that can take the secondary mortgage market beyond the status quo.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced the availability of per diem funds to eligible entities to provide transitional housing beds under VA’s Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program models. VA expects to fund 1,500 beds with this NOFA for applicants who will use one or a combination of the following housing models: Bridge Housing, Low Demand, Hospital-to-Housing, Clinical Treatment, and Service-Intensive Transitional Housing and Service Centers. This NOFA is not limited to those who have provided GPD services in the past

The National Association of Realtors®' venture capital fund Second Century Ventures has made a second investment in Trust Stamp, an identity authentication startup company that leverages artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies to verify strangers' identities and provide a trust score.

The Alliance to Save Energy released the following statement from President Kateri Callahan regarding the House tax bill released today, which fails to reinstate expired business and consumer tax incentives for energy efficiency or implement significant new tax provisions to encourage efficiency

The tax reform legislation proposed by House Republican leaders takes a historic step in directly revising the mortgage interest deduction (MID), a $70 billion annual tax expenditure that primarily benefits higher income households—including the top 1% of earners in the country. The Republican tax proposal makes sensible reforms in lowering the amount of a mortgage against which the MID can be claimed to $500,000 for new home loans and doubling the standard deduction. This change to the MID would impact fewer than 6% of mortgages nationwide and would save an estimated $95.5 billion over the first decade

International award-winning firm KTGY Architecture + Planning announced today that Anthem House in Baltimore, Maryland, was honored by Delta Associates at the firm’s 21st Annual Washington/Baltimore Multifamily Market Overview & Awards for Excellence program. Anthem House won “Best Baltimore Mid-Rise Apartment Community.”

the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized 28 clean water infrastructure projects for excellence and innovation within the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program. Honored projects include large wastewater infrastructure projects to small decentralized and agriculture projects

A new study released today by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) found that banking industry proposed changes to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) would allow midsize banks to circumvent federal requirements to lend and invest in low and moderate income neighborhoods

Mortgage applications decreased 2.6 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending October 27, 2017.

Builder confidence in the single-family 55+ housing market continued to be positive in the third quarter of 2017, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) 55+ Housing Market Index (HMI), released today.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today chaired a hearing to discuss new efficiency opportunities provided by advanced building management and control systems. The committee heard from representatives of the Department of Energy (DOE), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Cold Climate Housing Research Center, Southern Company, and Emerson Commercial and Residential Solutions.