Yearly Archives: 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 25, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. house prices rose in January, with an increase of 0.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) monthly House Price Index (HPI). The seasonally adjusted purchase-only index for the U.S. has shown increases for 23 of the last 24 months, beginning with February 2012.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 25, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sales of new single-family houses in February 2014 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 440,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 3.3 percent (±17.9%)* below the revised January rate of 455,000 and is 1.1 percent (±15.2%)* below the February 2013 estimate of 445,000.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 25, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The National Green Building Standard™ Commentary, the companion publication to the ANSI-approved 2012 ICC-700 National Green Building Standard (NGBS), is now available for purchase through BuilderBooks.com, the publishing arm for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), in both print and eBook formats

WASHINGTON - March 25, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- According to Out of Reach 2014, a report released today by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, an individual needs to earn $18.92 an hour to afford a two-bedroom rental until at Fair Market Rent. This figure is referred to as the “Housing Wage.” Today’s national average Housing Wage is more than two-and-a-half times the federal minimum wage, and 52% higher than it was in 2000

LOS ANGELES/PHOENIX - March 25, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- BH Properties, a Los Angeles-based firm that specializes in acquiring and repositioning challenged or distressed real estate properties, has purchased the Papago Crossing apartments in Phoenix for $8.1 million. The move further advances the firm’s investment strategy in the region.

SAN DIEGO, - March 25, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- DataQuick®, a provider of advanced real estate information solutions powered by data, analytics and decisioning, announced in its monthly Property Intelligence Report (PIR) that home sales increased in 29 of the 42 reporting markets in February, up significantly from the 11 counties reporting improved sales numbers in January. However, overall sales have only increased in six markets over the last quarter and in 16 counties over the last year.

New York, N.Y. - March 24, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced the award of a $500,000 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant to the City of Buffalo to fund green infrastructure projects to improve water quality in Lake Erie. Cameron Davis, Senior Advisor to the EPA Administrator for the Great Lakes, was joined today by Congressmember Brian Higgins and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown at the offices of the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper to announce the projects.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 24, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Six agencies today issued a proposed rule that would implement minimum requirements for state registration and supervision of appraisal management companies (AMCs). An AMC is an entity that serves as an intermediary between appraisers and lenders and provides appraisal management services.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 24, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced that Edward J. DeMarco will depart the Agency at the end of April.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 24, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) is hosting Housing Seniors and Veterans in Rural America: Preservation, Development and Services, on April 22-23 in Phoenix, Arizona. Made possible by support from The Atlantic Philanthropies and The Home Depot Foundation, this symposium will provide training and information on housing for rural seniors and veterans. These two vulnerable and often overlapping populations face many challenges. Homeowners may need help with repairs or counseling. Renters may need affordable units, face loss of their apartments or want to become owners. The homeless or near homeless need help with basic shelter and survival. Resources and models exist to help in all these situations and will be showcased in detail at this conference

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 24, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The new Senate proposal to reform the housing finance system would needlessly make mortgages more expensive and less available, announced civil rights groups today. The goal of housing finance reform is to create a safe housing finance system that provides affordable mortgages to all creditworthy borrowers, including people of color and families with modest incomes and lower wealth. We have serious concerns that the legislation proposed this week does not achieve that goal, the groups said, and we look forward to working with the co-sponsors to improve the bill.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 24, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- In accordance with the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, HUD published a Notice in the March 21, 2014, Federal Register identifying Federal buildings and other real property HUD has reviewed for suitability for use to assist the homeless. The properties were reviewed using information provided to HUD by Federal landholding agencies or by GSA regarding their inventories of excess or surplus property. The list includes buildings and properties across the country

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 24, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Authors of books published in 2013 in the broad field of real estate — including green building, sustainable design, home buying and selling, commercial real estate, finance, mortgage lending, foreclosures and investing – are eligible to enter NAREE's 7th Annual Bruss Book Competition

PHILADELPHIA - March 21, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that Thermo-Twin Industries, Inc. has agreed to implement lead-safe precautions when renovating pre-1978 dwellings. The company, located at 1155 Allegheny Ave., Oakmont, Pa., will also pay a $25,690 civil penalty to settle alleged violations

Washington, D.C. - March 20, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) and CNA today announced that during their third year as strategic partners, the groups will collaborate on driving the construction industry toward world class safety by targeting specific safety issues each quarter. Their outreach and education efforts will include webinars and CNA safety resources for ABC members to use to promote workplace safety industry-wide.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 20, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Construction employment expanded in 195 metro areas, declined in 90 and was stagnant in 54 between January 2013 and January 2014, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted, however, that despite the gains construction employment remained below peak levels in all but 21 metro areas

WASHINGTON - March 20, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Veterans and active-duty military personnel with service-connected amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, are now presumed medically eligible for grants up to almost $68,000 to adapt their homes, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today

WASHINGTON - March 20, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Home prices continued to show solid growth in most of the country due to limited inventory conditions, but rising prices and severe winter weather caused existing-home sales to slip in February, according to the National Association of Realtors

WASHINGTON - March 20, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Energy Department has announced the winners of the third annual Better Buildings Case Competition, which challenges collegiate teams to present unique and innovative solutions for reducing energy waste and improving the efficiency of our nation’s homes and commercial buildings to industry leaders. The winning student teams included Harvard University, Carnegie Mellon University, Yale University, Stanford University, University of California - Santa Barbara, University of California – San Diego, University of California – Berkeley, Columbia University, and MIT. Winning solutions will be shared more broadly with public and private sector organizations through the Better Buildings webinar series and the Better Buildings Summit

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 19, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Statement from the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) and National Apartment Association (NAA) by Cindy Chetti, NMHC Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, on the release of housing finance legislation from Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)