News

WASHINGTON, D.C. - August 23, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sales of new single-family houses in July 2013 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 394,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Census Bureau. This is 13.4 percent (±14.5%)* below the revised June rate of 455,000, but is 6.8 percent (±18.6%)* above the July 2012 estimate of 369,000.

WASHINGTON, DC - August 23, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it is charging Fifth Third Bank, Fifth Third Mortgage Company and Cranbrook Mortgage Corporation with discriminating against a couple with disabilities who were attempting to refinance their home mortgage. HUD’s charge alleges that the Cincinnati, Ohio-based mortgage lender and the Clinton Township, Michigan-based mortgage broker required unnecessary medical documentation in order to qualify the couple for a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - August 19, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- President Obama’s Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, chaired by Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, today released a rebuilding strategy to serve as a model for communities across the nation facing greater risks from extreme weather and to continue helping the Sandy-affected region rebuild.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - August 19, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that a national property management company will pay $15,000 under an agreement resolving allegations it discriminated against a Connecticut family with children. A Middletown, Connecticut husband and wife alleged that employees at Hamilton Point Property Management, LLC refused to renew their lease after concluding the family of five was too large for the two-bedroom apartment they occupied for nearly a decade.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - August 16, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today awarded nearly $10.5 million in grants designed to protect children and other vulnerable groups from health hazards in their homes. This funding highlights the link between housing and health and develops cost effective methods for mitigating residential hazards. HUD's grants are being awarded to academic and non-profit research institutions studying new methods to recognize and control residential health and safety hazards such as asthma triggers, bed bugs, mold and radon. Read a complete project-by-project summary of the programs awarded grants today.

WASHINGTON, DC - August 12, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the July 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, DC - August 12, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force announced the selection of ten Design Teams to proceed to Stage Two of REBUILD BY DESIGN, a multi-stage regional design competition that will develop innovative projects to protect and enhance Sandy-affected communities. U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, who also chairs the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, launched the competition on June 20, 2013 in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation

WASHINGTON - August 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded $1.7 billion to public housing authorities in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, to make major large-scale improvements to the nation’s 1.2 million public housing units.

WASHINGTON, DC - August 1, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today awarded $2.9 million to 15 public housing authorities to address emergency, safety and security needs at their public housing properties, including measures necessary to fight crime and drug activities.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 25, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sales of new single-family houses in June 2013 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 497,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Census Bureau. This is 8.3 percent (±20.5%)* above the revised May rate of 459,000 and is 38.1 percent (±22.0%) above the June 2012 estimate of 360,000

WASHINGTON, DC - July 19, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a new proposed rule to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing (AFFH) in the Federal Register today and made available background materials and a prototype geospatial tool. AFFH refers to the 1968 Fair Housing Act’s obligation for state and local governments to improve and achieve more meaningful outcomes from fair housing policies, so that every American has the right to fair housing, regardless of their race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability or familial status.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 17, 2013 - (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 June 2013

WASHINGTON, DC - July 11, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Homeowners in the U.S. paid a median price of $110,000 for their homes, according to a 2011 American Housing Survey profile released today. This is an increase of 2.3 percent from the $107,500 reported in the 2009 survey. The median purchase price of homes constructed in the past four years was higher at $235,000, down 2.1 percent from the $240,000 reported for new construction in 2009.

WASHINGTON, DC - July 5, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today a settlement agreement with the Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC) after a resident complained the housing authority failed to make a reasonable accommodation for a family with a young son with special needs. HABC will pay $150,000 to the public housing resident as part of the Voluntary Compliance Agreement.

WASHINGTON, DC - June 25, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sales of new single-family houses in May 2013 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 476,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

WASHINGTON, DC - June 19, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The nation’s largest mortgage servicers have failed eight of the servicing standards in the National Mortgage Settlement according to a report released by Joseph A. Smith, Jr., Monitor of the National Mortgage Settlement. The Monitor’s testing through the end of last year resulted in three testing fails, and there are five additional fails in 2013.

WASHINGTON, DC - June 18, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- As part of its continuing effort to assist families and individuals with their housing needs and to prevent future foreclosures, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced more than $40 million in housing counseling grants to 334 national, regional and local organizations. As a result of these grants and the additional funding they help leverage, more than 1.6 million households will have a greater opportunity to find housing, make more informed housing choices or keep their current homes.

WASHINGTON, DC - June 18, 2013 - (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 2013:

WASHINGTON, DC - June 13, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nearly 300 public housing authorities in 36 states and the District of Columbia plan to host free events to connect fathers and their children this weekend. For the third consecutive year public housing authorities across the country are gearing up to participate in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 12, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Blatant acts of housing discrimination faced by minority homeseekers continue to decline in the U.S., yet more subtle forms of housing denial stubbornly persist, according to a new summary study released today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Urban Institute. Housing Discrimination Against Racial and Ethnic Minorities 2012 finds African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians learn about fewer housing options than equally qualified whites.