WASHINGTON – July 18, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced the allocation of more than $31 million to the City of Chicago, Cook County, and DuPage County to help these communities recover from devastating storms, strong winds and flooding.  These grants are provided through HUD’s

WASHINGTON – July 11, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the June edition of the Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard – a comprehensive report on the nation’s housing market. The latest data show progress among key indicators, including growing equity and a rebound in the sale of new and existing homes. While this scorecard notes positive overall trends in the housing market, officials caution that more work needs to be done as the economy recovers from the Great Recession.

WASHINGTON – June 30, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today a Conciliation Agreement between the Connecticut Fair Housing Center (CFHC) and respondents Lil-1 Associates, AllPoints Realty and realtor Lillian Polak. The real estate companies will pay more than $24,000 to settle allegations that they published discriminatory listings and advertisements for condominiums specifying that children were not permitted.

WASHINGTON – June 24, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that Brotman Enterprise, LLC, a Philadelphia-area real estate company, will pay $25,000 as part of a Conciliation Agreement resolving allegations that its agents discriminated against African-American prospective renters. The Brotman employees allegedly steered white testers posing as rental applicants to neighborhoods they described as safer, while directing black testers to areas agents considered “rough.”

WASHINGTON – June 19, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced a second round of grants totaling $140 million to nearly 900 local homeless assistance programs across the country (see attached chart). Provided through HUD’s Continuum of Care Program,  the funding announced today will ensure additional permanent and transitional housing renewal projects are able to continue operating in the coming year, providing critically needed housing and support services to those persons and families experiencing homelessness.

WASHINGTON – June 18, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Sandy Program Management Office (PMO) today issued its first report tracking progress on the Sandy Rebuilding Strategy. The report is now available online

WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 17, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau today announced the following new residential construction statistics for May 2014

WASHINGTON – June 12, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — In a ground-breaking cross-agency collaboration, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) produced the first-ever dataset of HUD-assisted households that includes Medicare and Medicaid claims data. Despite the potential usefulness of combining administrative data across agencies, such projects are rare and very difficult to bring to fruition. HUD and HHS looked specifically at data on people aged 65 and older. Although the data do not describe individuals, they can be used to study trends.

WASHINGTON – May 29, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — After more than 12 years, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it is returning the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) to local control from federal receivership effective June 30, 2014. HUD took possession of HANO in February of 2002 for substantial default of the agency’s obligation set forth in the Annual Contributions Contract (ACC)

NASHVILLE – May 23, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — Unsafe or unhealthy living conditions at home account for many of the leading causes of preventable fatalities, illnesses and disabilities in the United States today. Rebuilding Together, a national nonprofit, is raising awareness and demonstrating the positive impact of safe and healthy housing by joining U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), HGTV and DIY Network, Lowe’s and other sponsors and volunteers in a series of events throughout Nashville

WASHINGTON – May 23, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — Sales of new single-family houses in April 2014 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 6.4 percent (±15.9%)* below the revised March rate of 407,000 and is 4.2 percent (±14.2%)* below the April 2013 estimate of 452,000.

WASHINGTON – May 23, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — Today, the Obama Administration announced the launch of the National Resource Network (the Network), a pilot program designed to serve as a “311 for Cities.” The program will allow communities nationwide to connect to a network of private and public sector experts that will provide local governments with strategic help on key economic issues and aid the turnaround of local economies. The Network demonstrates the Obama Administration’s continued commitment to partnering with mayors, city managers and other local government leaders to provide them with resources to help build ladders of opportunity and promote economic growth and prosperity for residents

WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 22, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today awarded more than $40 million in grants to hundreds of national, regional and local organizations to help families and individuals with their housing needs and to prevent future foreclosures. HUD’s housing counseling grants, and the additional funding they help to leverage, will assist more than 1.5 million households find housing, make more informed housing choices, or keep their current homes. See a list of all counseling agencies awarded funding today

WASHINGTON – May 21, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it has negotiatedanagreement between the National Fair Housing Alliance, the Austin Tenants’ Council, the National Association of the Deaf,and Bell Partners, a Greensboro, NC-based apartment owner and operator that controls more than 64,000 homes in 15 states, settling allegations that the company’s properties in Texas and Georgia denied housing to deaf persons

WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 16, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau today announced the following new residential construction statistics for April 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 15, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — A new set of reports from Joseph A. Smith, Jr., the Monitor of the National Mortgage Settlement, shows that the nation’s largest mortgage servicers are in compliance with the 29 original metrics of the NMS servicing rules. The report also contains the first test results for Green Tree and shows they failed eight metrics.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 13, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — Today, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) issued its “Blueprint for Access” outlining the additional steps the agency is taking to expand access to credit for underserved borrowers. These steps include encouraging a broader use of housing counseling. This week, HUD will publish a notice in the Federal Register for theHomeowners Armed with Knowledge (HAWK) pilot program to further incorporate housing counseling into the home buying process for borrowers using FHA insured financing

WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 13, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — Four California affordable housing developments are the recipients of the 2014 HUD Secretary’s Housing and Community Design Award, each recognized for excellence in residential housing design. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) selected 28th Street Apartmentsin South Los Angeles; Kelly Cullen Community in San Francisco; Kings Beach Housing Now in Lake Tahoe; and Sierra Bonita Apartments in West Hollywood as national affordable housing models

WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 12, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) –The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the April edition of the Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard – a comprehensive report on the nation’s housing market.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 12, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that 27 affordable housing providers and service providers across the nation have committed to installing more than 150 megawatts of on-site renewable energy, more than doubling the amount of renewable energy on HUD-assisted multifamily buildings