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Washington, D.C. - December 10, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has released the third and final installment of its LEED in Motion report series: "Impacts and Innovation The report details key impact areas and results of the thousands of projects that are utilizing the LEED® green building rating system, as well as innovation highlights related to LEED and green building technologies

Washington, D.C. - December 10, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) - Tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. ET, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) will join leaders from the BlueGreen Alliance, the Institute for America’s Future, and the Center for American Progress on a press call to release a new report that offers a bold strategy to lead a 21st-century green industrial transformation.

WASHINGTON, - December 10, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) - U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a series of sweeping changes to a popular loan program for rural homebuyers. The changes are part of an extensive overhaul that will strengthen rural housing markets, increase the availability of rural home loans and spur the construction of new homes in rural areas

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 10, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today took additional steps toward fulfilling the Strategic Plan for Enterprise Conservatorships that FHFA published in February 2012. That Plan established a conservator goal of gradually contracting Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae’s dominant presence in the marketplace while simplifying and shrinking their operations. The basic premise behind the “contract” goal is that with an uncertain future and a general desire for private capital to re-enter the market, the companies’ market presence should be reduced gradually over time.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 10, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Rick Judson, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Charlotte, N.C., issued the following statement on a new report on rental housing released today from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies:

WASHINGTON - December 10, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the November edition of the Obama Administration's Housing Scorecard – a comprehensive report on the nation’s housing market. The latest data show progress among many key indicators. The purchase of new homes and home prices remain strong and foreclosures are down. Although there is much good news, officials caution that the overall recovery remains fragile. The full Housing Scorecard is available online at www.hud.gov/scorecard.

WASHINGTON - December 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Thank you for that kind introduction. It’s great to be here with you all today because I feel a very special connection for the sponsor of America’s Rental Housing Report.

TAMPA - December 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently released a report entitled including Building Codes in the National Flood Insurance Program, which discusses the feasibility of including model building codes in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The study will be used by Congress to consider whether to make adoption and enforcement of model building codes mandatory for communities participating in the NFIP program

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, ConsensusDocs released a new Design-Build Joint Venture Agreement and a new Teaming Agreement. As the first industry standard joint venture for design-build, the document fills an important need. Constructors, architects and engineers are increasingly using joint venture relationships on projects utilizing the design-build project delivery method. Many potential joint venture relationships, which can be filled by constructors, design professionals or multiple permutations of those parties can use this new contract document. The new document helps parties address issues such as licensing and insurance requirements, as well as risk allocation issues. The new Teaming Agreement helps parties memorialize roles and responsibilities in submitting a project bid or proposal.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it will implement new FHA single-family loan limits on January 1, 2014, as specified by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA). Read FHA’s mortgagee letter detailing the agency’s new loan limits.

ST. LOUIS - December 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- House prices rose and mortgage delinquencies fell across all seven states that comprise the Federal Reserve's Eighth District during the third quarter of 2013, according to the St. Louis Fed’s latest Housing Market Conditions

SHANGHAI - December 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Real estate fundamentals are expected to remain strong in markets throughout Asia in 2014, with stiff competition for conventional assets in prime markets boosting the popularity of niche property sectors and secondary markets for investments

HEMPSTEAD, NY, WASHINGTON, D.C., NEW YORK, NY - December 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- In a long-awaited and historic decision, Federal District Judge Arthur Spatt ruled today that the Village of Garden City in Long Island, New York violated the federal Fair Housing Act, the United States Constitution, and other civil rights statutes by enacting a discriminatory zoning ordinance in 2004 for the purpose of keeping minority households out of Garden City.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it will implement new FHA single-family loan limits on January 1, 2014, as specified by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA).

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 6, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Construction employers added 17,000 jobs in November as the sector’s employment hit the highest level since August 2009, and the industry unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted that the new employment figures come as construction spending levels hit a four-year high in October

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 6, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Vincent C. Gray, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Victor L. Hoskins, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Paul Quander, DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief Kenneth B. Ellerbe, Department of General Services Director Brian Hanlon and members of the E Street Development Group will break ground on a new development that will house a fire station and a Hyatt Place Hotel.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 6, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Vincent C. Gray, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Victor L. Hoskins, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Paul Quander, DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief Kenneth B. Ellerbe, Department of General Services Director Brian Hanlon and members of the E Street Development Group will break ground on a new development that will house a fire station and a Hyatt Place Hotel.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 5, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, President Obama signed a memorandum directing the federal government to consume 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020, more than double the current level.

TAMPA - December 5, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced a Pilot Project for its new Resilience STARTM Home program, which will utilize construction standards developed by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) to ensure homes meet DHS’ resiliency requirements.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 5, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Markets in 54 out of the approximately 350 metro areas nationwide returned to or exceeded their last normal levels of economic and housing activity, according to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Leading Markets Index (LMI), released today. The index’s nationwide score of .86 indicates that, based on current permits, prices and employment data, the nationwide market is running at 86 percent of normal economic and housing activity.