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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.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced that in June and July it welcomed 28 new regular members to its ranks, which currently numbers more than 2,200 member companies

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) released the following statement in response to today’s National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) joint employer ruling in the Browning-Ferris Industries of California case.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today submitted comments urging the withdrawal of the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Notice of Proposed Guidance (NPG) implementing President Obama’s “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Executive Order (Executive Order 13673), commonly referred to as the blacklisting proposal.

The current draft of the 2016 AISC Specification for Structural Steel Buildings is now available for a second public review until September 21, 2015. The draft Specification and a comment form are available for download on the AISC website at www.aisc.org/publicreview. Hard copies are also available (for a $35 nominal charge) by calling 312.670.5411.

Mortgage applications increased 0.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 21, 2015

The Center for American Progress issued the following statement on the announcement from Fannie Mae of a new affordable lending product for people looking to buy a home. The HomeReady mortgage product offers flexible terms and conditions to creditworthy, low- and moderate-income borrowers and borrowers in low-income communities

Renewable energy production has increased dramatically under the Obama administration, with solar generation increasing twentyfold and wind generation increasing threefold since 2009 alone. But a new report from the Center for American Progress argues that new policies are needed to consolidate these gains and harness more of the clean energy potential of our nation’s public lands and waters

Conducted in late June, the second-quarter 2015 NARI Remodeling Business Pulse (RBP) data of current and future remodeling business conditions found a sharp upturn in remodelers’ ratings for current business conditions

Solar industry leaders commended today's decision by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to leave the state's net metering policy unchanged, calling it a "fair outcome" for the state's consumers, utilities and solar industry.

Pedestrian-friendly units, unique amenities and the integration of buildings into their communities were some of the trademarks found in this year’s finalists for the 2015 Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Awards, which honor superior achievement in apartment and condominium development, design, marketing and management and are sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

Ten years ago this week, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf South and shook the nation. Although some will celebrate the resiliency and recovery of the Gulf region, many continue to feel the painful consequences of Katrina a decade later. Frontline communities in the Gulf are uniting under the banner of Gulf South Rising with a week of action to confront the devastation of this disaster and the inequitable recovery that followed.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) projects between 13.9 and 15.9 million additional households will be formed by 2024, making the next decade one of the strongest in housing in U.S. history, according to a new research paper released today. The report, titled Housing Demand: Demographics and the Numbers Behind the Coming Multi-Million Increase in Households, shows that the housing demand surge will be driven by Hispanics, Baby Boomers, and Millennials.

The National Association of Realtors® has selected 10 individuals as finalists for REALTOR® Magazine’s 2015 Good Neighbor Awards. This award honors Realtors® who volunteer in their communities, improve the quality of life for their neighbors and go above and beyond in their commitment to making their neighborhoods better places to live.

Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 5.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 507,000 units in July, according to newly released data from HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau. “Our builders are reporting higher traffic and more serious buyers, and are adding inventory in anticipation of future business,” said Tom Woods, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Blue Springs, Mo.

Six American communities will receive free sustainable neighborhood planning and design consultation in 2015-2016 from Global Green USA with the help of a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Program. Global Green will assemble a team of sustainability experts to conduct three-day visits to communities and provide comprehensive recommendations for infrastructure and policy changes aimed at helping the communities build a future that is more resource-efficient, livable, healthy, equitable, and environmentally responsible.

The pedestrian bridge that links Columbus, Ohio’s new Hilton Columbus Downtown hotel to the adjacent Greater Columbus Convention Center across High Street, the main thoroughfare through downtown, has earned national recognition in the 2015 Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structural Steel awards program (IDEAS2)

President Obama is unveiling a set of impressive private and public sector commitments aimed at accelerating the Nation’s transition to a cleaner and more productive energy economy. The private sector commitments, combined with a robust set of executive actions, will expand opportunities to install energy saving technologies in households, while also driving the development of low-cost clean energy technologies.

The 2015 NCHV Veterans Access to Housing Summit, "The Drive to December", will be held Oct. 5-6 at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington, D.C. This year's Summit will gather Federal agencies involved in ending veteran homelessness, technical assistance partners for the major homeless veteran service programs, and experts from around the country to help you set a high-speed plan for the final 100 days of the Five-Year Plan to End Veteran Homelessness