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Monthly Archives: February 2015

NAREE Extends Journalism Contest Deadline to March 6

BOCA RATON, Fla. - February 27, 2015 - (RealEstateRama) -- NAREE has extended the deadline to enter the 65th Annual Real Estate Journalism Competition to March 6.  "We received many calls from writers and editors asking for an extension since the original March 1 deadline falls on a Sunday this year," said Mary Doyle-Kimball, NAREE's executive director

Assembly Speaker Resurrects $75 Recording Fee

Shades of Senate bills past; Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) unveiled a bill to increase funding for affordable housing by adding a statewide...

HUD ANNOUNCES FINALISTS IN STUDENT DESIGN AND PLANNING COMPETITION

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 27, 2015 - (RealEstateRama) -- Four student-led teams from universities across the country are among the finalists selected by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as part of a competition to encourage research and innovation in affordable housing design and planning.  Among these finalists, one team of graduate students will be chosen for the best solution for redevelopment of a senior housing high-rise in Houma, Louisiana.

Pending Home Sales Rise in January to Highest Level in 18 Months

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 27, 2015 - (RealEstateRama) -- Improved buyer demand at the beginning of 2015 pushed pending home sales in January to their highest level since August 2013, according to the National Association of Realtors®. All major regions except for the Midwest saw gains in activity in January.

Meridian Acquires 16,000 SF Medical Office Building in Berkeley, California

SAN RAMON, CALIF. - February 27, 2015 - (RealEstateRama) -- Meridian Property Company, a full service real estate developer and owner of medical real estate, is pleased to announce that it has closed escrow on the purchase of a 15,915-square-foot medical office building located in Alameda County at 2920 Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, California. Meridian purchased the property from Gambro of Deerfield, Ill., in an off-market direct deal transaction. The sales price could not be disclosed

Reverse Logic On Loans: Reverse Mortgages Explained

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 27, 2015 - (RealEstateRama) -- The rule of thumb should be this: If a financial product, such as a reverse mortgage, takes more than 350 words to explain, then there should be legal checkpoints before someone is allowed to sign off on one

Nearly 200 Top Craft Trainees to Compete at ABC’s National Craft Championships

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 27, 2015 - (RealEstateRama) -- Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today announced nearly 200 competitors from 32 states will participate in this year’s National Craft Championships, March 4-5, at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward County Convention Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Developers’ Sentiment About Multifamily Market Holds Steady in the Fourth Quarter

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 26, 2015 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Multifamily Production Index (MPI), released today by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), held steady with a reading of 54 for the fourth quarter of 2014. This capped the third straight year of quarterly readings consistently at 50 or above

Realtors® Demand Congressional Action to Strengthen Patent Laws, Protect Small Businesses

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 26, 2015 - (RealEstateRama) -- Without meaningful patent litigation reform, Realtors® and other small and midsize business owners will remain targets of extortion by unscrupulous entities that demand licensing fees or threaten frivolous lawsuits under the guise of patent infringement.

HUD AWARDS $36 MILLION TO PROMOTE JOBS, SELF-SUFFICIENCY FOR PUBLIC HOUSING RESIDENTS

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 26, 2015 - (RealEstateRama) -- In an effort to help public housing residents find job opportunities, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today awarded nearly $36 million in grants to public housing authorities and non-profit organizations across the nation to hire or retain service coordinators to help residents achieve economic and housing independence. 

New Poll Shows Strong Bipartisan Support for LEED Green Building Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 26, 2015 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED green building rating system has strong bipartisan support across the U.S., according to a new poll released today. The nationwide poll found that 79 percent of Republicans and 89 percent of Democrats support the use of LEED in buildings

CEDIA Partners with Powerhouse Alliance to Offer In-Person Training

INDIANAPOLIS - February 26, 2015 - (RealEstateRama) -- CEDIA has partnered with Powerhouse Alliance to offer a series of networking training workshops at Volutone. Partnering with Volutone will provide another outlet for home technology professionals to experience face-to-face education with instructor support.  The courses available are part of the pathway to prepare for CEDIA's Residential Networking Specialist certification exam. Courses in the networking training pathway have consistently sold out and have gained wide support from the industry

Carole Jones Inducted as the 2015 NAHB Professional Women in Building Council Chair

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 26, 2015 - (RealEstateRama) -- Carole Jones, CAPS, CGB, CGP, a licensed builder and associate broker from Bloomfield Hills, Mich., was recently sworn in as the 2015 chair of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Professional Women in Building (PWB) Council

Mortgage Delinquencies Continue to Decrease in Fourth Quarter

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 25, 2015 - (RealEstateRama) -- The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties decreased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.68 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the fourth quarter of 2014.  This was the lowest level since the third quarter of 2007. The delinquency rate decreased 17 basis points from the previous quarter, and 71 basis points from one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) National Delinquency Survey.

HUD AND CENSUS BUREAU REPORT NEW RESIDENTIAL SALES IN JANUARY

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 25, 2015 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sales of new single-family houses in January 2015 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 481,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Census Bureau.

New Home Sales Hold Steady in January

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 25, 2015 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sales of newly built, single-family homes dropped 0.2 percent in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 481,000 units from an elevated December reading, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau

Stronger Construction Standards can Reduce Tornado Destruction, says IBHS

OKLAHOMA CITY - February 25, 2015 - (RealEstateRama) -- “The devastation and damage to homes and businesses caused by tornadoes can and should be reduced by better construction methods,” said Dr. Tim Reinhold, chief engineer and senior vice president of research, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS).

Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 25, 2015 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage applications decreased 3.5 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 20, 2015.  This week’s results include an adjustment to account for the Presidents’ Day holida

New NAHB Publication Provides Builders with the Tools to Accurately Forecast Cash Flow

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 25, 2015 - (RealEstateRama) -- BuilderBooks, the book publishing arm of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recently released a new publication, Financial Forecasting in Microsoft® Excel.

ConsensusDocs Releases Updated Owner and Trade Contractor Agreement

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 25, 2015 - (RealEstateRama) -- The ConsensusDocs 850 Agreement Between Owner and Trade Contractor is the latest release in the 100+ document library of standard contracts written by a coalition of 40+ industry associations. The standard contract document was updated to reflect today's construction needs. The agreement allows an owner to contract with a builder when construction management (CM) agency is used (and not a single general contractor). This agreement can be used for multi prime, CM, Agency, or Owner acting as its own CM. This contractual arrangement is appropriate when construction management services are provided externally by a CM or by the owner itself.

Business Real Estate Press Releases

Support Ukrainian Refugees

GFP Real Estate and Its Tenants Raise More Than $200,000 to...

GFP Real Estate is pleased to announce that its "Support Ukraine in Crisis" campaign raised more than $200,000 to support humanitarian relief efforts on the ground in Ukraine.

Recent Gov & Nonprofit Real Estate Press Releases

U.S. Senator Roger Marshall

Senator Marshalls Slams United Nations Climate Change Goals That Will Harm...

U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. released the following statement on the United Nations Net-Zero Banking Alliance’s (NZBA) decision to dramatically expand their Green New Deal