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WSSC today announced that HomeServe USA (HomeServe) will offer its customers home pipe repair service plans. The 450,000 WSSC residential customers in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties will be offered optional water service line repair plans, as well as sewer line and in-home plumbing plans through HomeServe

Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 3.5 percent in June from an upwardly revised May reading to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 592,000 units, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. New home sales are up 9.3 percent in the second quarter of 2016 from the first quarter.

Seismic isolation is perhaps the most effective method available for protecting structures from earthquake damage. The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) 2015 NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions for Buildings and Other Structures contain updated requirements for the design and testing of seismic isolation systems and the design of isolated superstructures.

On July 21, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service (RHS) released data on the agency's single-family, multifamily, and community facilities programs. RHS also demonstrated how the data can be accessed via a new interactive visualization tool, created by PolicyMap, designed to make the data publicly attainable and more useful.

U.S. wind industry activity approached record levels in the second quarter as utilities and other purchasers locked in record low wind costs. Over 18,200 megawatts (MW) of wind power capacity are now under construction or in advanced stages of development, according to the American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA) U.S. Wind Industry Second Quarter 2016 Market Report. R

A new workshop, sponsored by the National Institute of Building Sciences, answers the question of what to do when building control systems have been hacked or taken over by ransomware. Intended for building owners, facility managers, engineering, physical security, information assurance and other professionals involved with the design, deployment and operation of building control systems, the “Your Building Control Systems Have Been Hacked, Now What? Workshop,” to be held Tuesday, October 4, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, in Arlington, Virginia, will provide a combination of classroom learning modules and hands-on laboratory exercises to help attendees learn how to detect, contain, eradicate and recover from a cyber event.

Solar is the fastest-growing source of energy in America. Large scale solar projects in need of acres of land are expanding rapidly throughout the U.S., producing clean, affordable, reliable electricity, and providing farmers and other landowners with unique revenue-generating opportuniti

On July 20th the District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) ensured that affordable housing will remain in Ward 4’s Brightwood neighborhood by financing the acquisition and rehabilitation of Homestead Apartments (812 Jefferson Street, NW). The Agency issued $6.5 million in DCHFA Bonds ($1.49 million short term and $4.6 million long term) for the complete renovation of this 55 unit building

Habitat for Humanity, as the lead representative of civil society organizations, will join world leaders this week for the third and final session of the Preparatory Committee, or PrepCom 3, for Habitat III, the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development. Habitat for Humanity has played an integral role throughout the development of the New Urban Agenda, an outcome document that will define the UN’s global urban strategy for the next 20 years. As negotiations take place this week, Habitat aims to influence policymakers to take an informed and effective approach to the growing challenge of urbanization

Wayfair, an online destination for home furnishings and decor, and Habitat for Humanity International today announced the renewal of their global partnership to help build and rehabilitate affordable homes. The Wayfair partnership has contributed nearly $1 million over the past four years to Habitat, which works alongside homeowners to build or improve a place they can call home. Entering its fifth year as a Habitat for Humanity partner, Wayfair will continue to provide fundraising, product donations and volunteer mobilization to help families build strength, stability and self-reliance.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced the promotion of David Upbin to the position of Associate Vice President of Education Operations and Programming, and MBA Strategy. The promotion was effective July 1, 2016.

Mortgage applications decreased 1.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 15, 2016. The prior week's results included an adjustment for the July 4th holiday

Pete Mills, Senior Vice President of Residential Policy and Member Engagement for the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) issued the following statement regarding FHA's guidance on the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program.

The second edition of AISC’s Design Guide 11: Floor Vibrations Due To Human Activity is now available. The updated guide expands on the original version with new material on the response of structural systems that support human activity including floors, monumental stairs and balconies. It includes modifications to tolerance limits, updated methods for evaluating high frequency systems and problem floors, as well as refinements to the use of the finite element method to analyze load actions caused by human activity.

Habitat for Humanity received a $4.65 million AmeriCorps grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service to support 350 AmeriCorps members who will serve with Habitat in 25 states across the country

As electric industry regulators prepare for their summer meeting in Nashville, TN, a group of solar and tech organizations and companies, including TechNet, Sierra Club, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), Vote Solar, The Alliance for Solar Choice, CalSEIA, and SolarCity released a paper on designing electricity rates in the era of distributed energy resource

The potential and limitations associated with inclusionary zoning, a tool used by a growing number U.S. cities to encourage or require workforce housing development, are explored in a new Urban Land Institute (ULI) report, The Economics of Inclusionary Zoning.

Apartment markets continued to show mixed conditions in the July 2016 National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions. For the third quarter in a row, the Market Tightness (43) and Equity Financing (44) Indexes remained below the breakeven level of 50. Conversely, the Debt Financing Index came in at 62 and the Sales Volume Index landed right at 50.

New research published by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy shows how metropolitan regions can rebuild for greater resilience during the reconstruction process after major disasters, whether earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, or terrorists attacks