Archives

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 12, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- According to Housing Instability Among Our Nation’s Veterans, a report released today by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, 1.5 million veteran households suffered from severe housing cost burden in 2011, spending more than 50% of their income on housing. There were also significant disparities among veteran households, with veteran households headed by a racial minority, females, and those with a disability more likely to be cost burdened than their counterparts.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 11, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The American Institute of Architects (AIA) today announced the release of seven new Sustainable Projects (SP) contract documents. The release includes SP versions of the AIA’s two families of Construction Management documents, Construction Manager as Adviser (CMa) and Construction Manager as Constructor (CMc), as well as B103™–2007 SP, Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Architect for a Large or Complex Sustainable Project.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 11, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced the availability of four multifamily Job Task Analyses (JTAs) for the home energy upgrade industry

SAN FRANCISCO - November 11, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Rising interest and capitalization rates top the list of issues that have future implications for real estate. That’s according to an industry expert at the “Top 10 Issues Affecting Real Estate” session at the 2013 REALTORS® Conference and Expo.

SAN FRANCISCO - November 11, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- In a rare gathering of CEOs and senior executives from the biggest names in mortgage lending, Realtors® were told to expect market growth in 2014 and to prepare their buyers for transactions with heavy documentation requirements

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 11, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the October edition of the Obama Administration's Housing Scorecard – a comprehensive report on the nation's housing market. The latest data show important progress across many key indicators—as home prices, purchases of new homes, and sales of existing homes continue to show strong annual gains—although officials caution that the overall recovery remains fragile. The full Housing Scorecard is available online at www.hud.gov/scorecard.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 11, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- This week, the House and Senate enacted the $1.4 billion housing bond bill. The bill, which is now before Governor Patrick for his signature, is the largest housing bond bill ever passed and is critical to ensuring that the state has the resources over the next five years to provide additional affordable housing opportunities for families, the elderly, and people with disabilities.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) launched a tool to help consumers find local housing counseling agencies to answer their questions or address their concerns. The Bureau is releasing the tool in advance of the January 2014 effective dates for its mortgage rules. The Bureau also published guidance for lenders on how to provide mortgage applicants with a list of local homeownership counseling organizations

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Housing and Economic Development Secretary Greg Bialecki accepted a national award from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) on November 6 recognizing the Commonwealth’s leadership in pursuing a strategy to increase the supply of housing needed, and in the places needed, for its workforce. This award not only recognizes the Patrick Administration’s efforts to stimulate multi-family housing but also the work of the Legislature and the Commonwealth’s quasi-public agencies which support housing: MassHousing, MassDevelopment, the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, the Community Development Economic Assistance Corporation and the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- On Nov. 20-21, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV), in partnership with The Home Depot Foundation and Citi Salutes, is hosting the third annual Veterans Access to Housing Summit in Chicago, IL.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Construction employment hit a 50-month high as employers added 11,000 jobs in October, the fifth consecutive month of sector job gains, and the industry unemployment rate fell to 9 percent, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said that the new employment figures indicate there was little nationwide short-term impact from the federal government shutdown and cautioned that skilled worker shortages are likely to grow as the industry continues to expand.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) released its second installment of the LEED in Motion report series: Places and Policies. The report states that there are nearly 60,000 LEED green building projects across the globe, spanning 10.6 billion square feet. Notably, Canada, India, China, the United Arab Emirates and Brazil lead the way for countries with the highest number of projects outside the U.S.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- On November 8th, President Obama will speak from the Port of New Orleans, one of the nation’s largest ports, where he will reiterate his call to invest in rebuilding America’s infrastructure, including strategic ports along the Mississippi River such as the Port of New Orleans, which support U.S. commerce and trade.

WASHINGTON - November 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) held a hearing titled “Housing Finance Reform: Essential Elements to Provide Affordable Options for Housing.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 7, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- I’ve been asked a lot lately about the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act which is due to expire December 31, 2013. This act provides homeowners with cancellation of debt, huge tax relief.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 7, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) told Congress today that an effective housing finance reform plan must include a federal backstop to ensure that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages and reliable mortgage financing for multifamily housing remain readily available and affordable.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 7, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Builder confidence in the 55+ housing market showed continued improvement in the third quarter of 2013 compared to the same period a year ago, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) latest 55+ Housing Market Index (HMI) released today. All segments of the market—single-family homes, condominiums and multifamily rental—registered strong increases. The single-family index increased 14 points to a level of 50, which is the highest third-quarter number since the inception of the index in 2008 and the eighth consecutive quarter of year over year improvements

Wherever you may stand on the climate change debate (cue the angry comments!), it’s undeniable that Mother Nature has grown a bit unpredictable in exacting her revenge for hairspray and Styrofoam. Superstorms in New Jersey. Mudslides in Colorado. Cyclones in India. But while we may not know where the next natural disaster is going to hit, one House Republican is doing his best to encourage people to be prepared

WASHINGTON - November 6, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that MortgageIT, Inc., an indirect subsidiary of Deutsche Bank, has agreed to pay $12.1 million under a Conciliation Agreement with HUD resolving allegations that the residential lender discriminated against African American and Hispanic borrowers seeking mortgage loans. HUD had alleged that the lender’s practices contributed to minority borrowers being charged higher Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) and fees than similarly-situated white borrowers, and denied minority applicants loans more often than similarly-situated white applicants.

CHICAGO - November 6, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Seventeen grants totaling $250,000 have been awarded to Urban Land Institute (ULI) district and national councils through ULI’s Urban Innovation Grant program. The recipients were announced today at ULI’s Fall Meeting in Chicago