Yearly Archives: 2015

ast week, First Lady Michelle Obama and Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden wrote an op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer to recognize the city's accomplishment in functionally ending veteran homelessness. Philadelphia has identified each individual veteran experiencing homelessness in the city and worked with them to place them in appropriate and permanent housing options

American wind power just passed the 70 gigawatt (GW) mark, meaning enough wind turbine capacity is now installed to supply over 19 million typical American homes with low-cost electricity.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that communities may now apply to be designated a Promise Zone under the third and final round competition. Read the new notice seeking Promise Zone applications.

Researchers at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have made advances toward affordable photoelectrochemical (PEC) production of hydrogen.

Plan to join the National Institute of Building Sciences Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) to find out about the latest on the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) NEHRP Recommended Provisions for New Buildings and Other Structures and Project 17, Development of Next-Generation Seismic Maps, when the BSSC presents its Second Annual BSSC Colloquium, “Seismic Design Update 2016: An Interactive Exploration of the 2020 NEHRP Provisions and Project 17 Issues.”

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) today issued the following statement on Congress’s two-year extension of the 179D tax deduction, which provides up to $1.80 per square foot for the design of energy efficient buildings. Please attribute the statement to AIA President Russell Davidson, FAIA

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has created the Equity in Architecture Commission, a blue-ribbon panel of leading architects, educators, and diversity experts to investigate diversity and inclusion in the profession. The 20-member group is charged with assessing recent data, setting a plan of action, and reporting on results to the AIA Board of Directors by the end of 2016.

As has been the case a few times already this year, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) dipped in November. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the November ABI score was 49.3, down from the mark of 53.1 in the previous month.

BOMA International’s lobbying efforts have resulted in a series of historic advocacy victories for the commercial real estate industry today with the passage of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015 by the U.S. Congress. Included in the PATH Act are a permanent extension of the 15-year depreciation on qualified leasehold improvements, BOMA’s top tax priority; fixes to the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA); and a straight two-year extension of the energy efficiency deduction for commercial buildings

Today, in Manchester, Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden joined local business leaders—Bill Whyte, CEO and founder of W.S. Badger Company Inc. in Gilsum; Howard Brodsky, chairman and co-CEO of CCA Global Partners in Manchester;Joseph Keefe, president and CEO of Pax World Management in Portsmouth; and Gary Hirshberg, chairman and former president and CEO of Stonyfield Farm in Londonderry—for a lunchtime conversation focused on making the economic and business case for quality child care, paid leave, and other policies that support families and strengthen the economy.

Bill Emerson, Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and CEO of Quicken Loans, issued the following statement regarding the inclusion of the Jumpstart GSE reform provision within the year-end spending bill, which would prevent the administration from selling off its stake in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) without congressional approval.

“DOE continues its aggressive and focused campaign to save businesses and consumers money on their energy bills with the announcement of new energy efficiency standards for commercial air conditioners and furnaces. The energy and dollar savings from these latest standards are more than double that of any standard that has been issued to date.

The U.S. Senate approved a year-end budget package by a vote of 65-33. The package included a 3-year reauthorization of and a 1-year 47-percent increase in funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Throughout this Congress, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has urged the Senate to permanently reauthorize and fully fund the LWCF.

A significant piece of tax legislation is now on its way to the President’s desk, and the bill includes the extension of a number of expired tax provisions important to supporting homeowners and real estate investment.

Congress delivered an early gift of energy efficiency tax incentives to help American consumers and businesses invest in products and technologies that will return energy and dollar savings.  The omnibus appropriations and tax extenders bill approved by Congress reinstates and extends until 2016 a tax incentive of up to $500 for families that purchase qualifying energy efficiency products; provides home builders and/or manufacturers up to $2,000 for building energy efficient homes

Next year, 1,000 homeowners across the state will receive up to $3,000 to seismically retrofit and protect their homes from earthquake damage. The Earthquake Brace + Bolt program is expanding to include more than 150 ZIP codes in vulnerable areas in Northern and Southern California

The Boulder Group, a net leased investment brokerage firm, has completed the sale of a single tenant net leased Rite Aid property located at 8110 Mallard Creek Road in Charlotte, North Carolina for $4,320,000.

The agencies have observed substantial growth in many CRE asset and lending markets, increased competitive pressures, rising CRE concentrations in banks, and an easing of CRE underwriting standards. Financial institutions should maintain underwriting discipline and exercise prudent risk-management practices to identify, measure, monitor, and manage the risks arising from CRE lending

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced the promotion of Tamara King to the position of Vice President of Residential Policy and Member Engagement, effective January 1, 2016.

First American Financial Corporation (NYSE: FAF), a leading global provider of title insurance, settlement services and risk solutions for real estate transactions, today released First American's proprietary Potential Home Sales model (previously called the Existing-Home Sales Capacity model) for the month of November 2015, which provides a gauge on whether existing-home sales are under or over their long-run potential level based on current market fundamentals.