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The Community Home Lenders Association (CHLA) today released a side-by-side chart (enclosed) comparing consumer and financial regulation of non-bank mortgage lenders and banks. CHLA is the only national association exclusively representing non-bank mortgage lenders, and has consistently warned that non-bank over-regulation can lead to industry concentration, which hurts consumers and actually increases financial risk.

The National Institute of Building Sciences Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) will host a webinar Tuesday, September 15, from 1:00 to 2:00 pm EDT, to bolster the importance of new additions to the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program’s (NEHRP) NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions for New Buildings and Other Structures that more accurately address the appropriate design for building diaphragms.

The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) joins with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Ready Campaign and other organizations around the country to encourage home and business owners to take time during National Preparedness Month to reduce risk and be ready before natural disasters strike. IBHS recommends four simple steps to help get prepared

The National Institute of Building Sciences, which will be conducting a representative hearing on productivity and the workforce on September 25, 2015 in Washington, D.C., has extended the deadline for building industry representatives who want to testify. Those parties who want to provide oral testimony have until Tuesday, September 8, 2015, at 5:00 pm EDT, to notify the Institute of their intent.

Homeowners in Sandusky County can repair or replace septic systems with funding from Ohio EPA. Ohio EPA awarded a $150,000 loan to the county as part of the Ohio Department of Health’s Home Sewage Treatment Systems (HSTS) Repair/Replacement project for 2015

The National Institute of Building Sciences Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC) announces the appointment of Jim Whittaker, Keith Diaz Moore and Mary Ann Lazarus to serve as the jury for the 2015 Beyond Green™ High-Performance Building and Community Awards.

CHICAGO - According to AAA more Americans will hit the roads or take to the skies this year for the last holiday weekend of the summer. With the increase number of people on the roads, the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) is offering some travel tips help keep this holiday as stress free as possible.

David H. Stevens, President & CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, released the following statement regarding FHA's Loan Certification Requirements. "MBA appreciates FHA's efforts to provide the industry the opportunity to comment on the revised certifications. As the entry point for homeownership for so many first time homebuyers but also borrowers who often have higher risk, clarity and confidence for lenders are critical concerns.

Construction employment increased in fewer than half of the nation’s metro areas between July 2014 and July 2015, the weakest expansion since late 2011, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted that the new jobs data comes while a series of vital federal infrastructure funding measures, notably the surface transportation program, languish unfinished in Congress

Today, in reaction to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) new proposed revisions to the loan-level certifications made by lenders on mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s (NCRC) President and CEO John Taylor made the following statement

The Federal Housing Administration's mutual mortgage insurance fund plays a critical role in providing access to credit so that millions of Americans—many of whom are first-time buyers, come from low- and moderate-income backgrounds, or purchase homes in communities of color—can be successful homeowners. The FHA today proposed revised language on the lender certification of loan and borrower eligibility and lender disbarment.<

Two US-based organizations joined the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) Lighthouses initiative today to help island nations accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and transition away from fossil fuels. The Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), an initiative of the Clinton Foundation, and the Rocky Mountain Institute-Carbon War Room (RMI-CWR), through their island partnership, will jointly work to achieve Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Lighthouses Initiative objectives and explore opportunities for coordinated assistance to SIDS with other partners of the initiative.

In June of 2015, the International Property Measurement Standards Coalition released its second global property measurement standard—International Property Measurement Standard: Residential Buildings—for public comment. IPMS: Residential Buildings is being developed by the Coalition to establish a common, international methodology for measuring residential property. It seeks to address existing inconsistencies in measurement practices between and even within markets, which can lead to confusion for consumers and the inability to compare property on a like-for-like basis

Tom Woods, Chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Blue Springs, Mo., issued the following statement concerning the recent District court rulings in North Dakota, West Virginia and Georgia on the Environmental Protection Agency's rule defining the "waters of the United States" as found in the Clean Water Act

With Tropical Storm Erika strengthening in the Atlantic, potentially on track to hit Florida, the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) encourages residents in the southeast to listen to their emergency officials and prepare for severe weather. Although the storm’s path is uncertain, forecasters are warning residents to get prepared for heavy rain bands

Local elected officials and honored guests cut the ribbon Wednesday, Aug. 19, at the groundbreaking for Peoples’ Self-Help Housing’s $18 million renovation project at the Villa la Esperanza Apartments. From left, PSHH Board Member Vito Gioiello; Sherie Bratt of Goleta Presbyterian Church and the original Goleta Valley Housing Committee; District Representative Liora Goodman, Office of State Senator Hannah Beth Jackson; District Supervisor Assistant Hilary Campbell, Office of Santa Barbara County 2nd District Supervisor Janet Wolf

A federal judge has blocked the Obama administration's controversial rule defining the scope of Clean Water Act protections from going into effect August 28, 2015. The Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule has been challenged in multiple courts across the country.

Pending home sales were mostly unchanged in July, but rose modestly for the sixth time in seven months, according to the National Association of Realtors. The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, marginally increased 0.5 percent to 110.9 in July from an upwardly revised 110.4 in June and is now 7.4 percent above July 2014 (103.3).

The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) and Palm Harbor Homes announced today Palm Harbor’s manufacturing facility in Plant City, Florida has earned a FORTIFIED Home™ – Hurricane manufacturing plant certification to construct and deliver the first-ever FORTIFIED Home labeled and disaster resistant modular homes in hurricane-prone regions.