Yearly Archives: 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 19, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- NeighborWorks America today announced that $63.1 million has been awarded to 29 state housing finance agencies (HFAs), 18 HUD-approved housing counseling intermediaries, and 67 community-based NeighborWorks organizations to provide counseling to families and individuals facing the threat of foreclosure. Although the number of new households facing foreclosure is below the peak seen just a few years ago, many hundreds of thousands of homeowners will still face trouble with their mortgages this year. The foreclosure prevention work done by housing counselors funded by the NFMC program will significantly help these families. It is estimated that more than 167,800 families facing the threat of foreclosure will be directly assisted with this eighth round of NFMC funding

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 19, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Building Systems Councils (BSC) of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) announced its 2014 Board of Trustees last month during the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas. The BSC represents the concrete, log, modular and panelized building system industries, as well as builders and suppliers to those industries

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 19, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded nearly $1.8 billion to public housing authorities in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, to make major large-scale improvements to the nation’s 1.1 million public housing units. View funding by public housing authority here

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 19, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Charles E. Carey, a Member of the Public Finance Section of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., and Colin McNiece, an associate in the firm’s Public Finance Section will each participate in a panel discussion at the 22nd annual Affordable Housing Finance Conference hosted by SMITH’s Research & Ratings. The conference is being held March 20-21 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 18, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- How many hours a week does a minimum wage worker need to work to afford a two-bedroom apartment at Fair Market Rent?

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 18, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, in reaction to the release of a draft housing finance reform bill by Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Chairman Tim Johnson and Ranking Member Mike Crapo, NCRC President and CEO John Taylor made the following statement

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 18, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Alliance to Save Energy added expertise in sustainable infrastructure investment and continued leadership from the building efficiency solutions sector with the election of Jeffrey Eckel, President and CEO of Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure (NYSE: HASI) and Kevin Self, Vice President of Strategy & Corporate Development at Johnson Controls to the Board of Directors.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 18, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mercy Housing, a national nonprofit based in Denver, is joining with other organizations across Colorado in supporting proposed legislation to expand the availability of affordable housing in the state. The bill, now being considered by the Senate, comes as average rents in Colorado’s metropolitan cities continue to grow – leaving few options for low-income working families and individuals in need

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 18, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Construction firms added jobs in 38 states between January 2013 and January 2014, while 27 states experienced construction employment gains between December and January, according to an analysis today by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data. Association officials said the fact so many states added construction jobs for the year and month despite harsh winter conditions in many parts of the country is a sign that demand appears to be recovering.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 18, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The National Association of Realtors® today announced that SmartZip Analytics, the national leader in real estate analytics and predictive marketing, is the first company selected to join the 2014 class of REach™, the strategic growth technology accelerator founded and managed by NAR’s investment arm, Second Century Ventures

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 18, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nationwide housing starts were virtually unchanged in February, inching down 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 907,000 units, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 18, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Rebuilding Together, a national nonprofit with a vision of a safe and healthy home for every person, is launching its 2014 Communities of Promise program to provide individualized coaching and support to select affiliates to help the organizations grow, develop and build capacity. This initiative is part of a larger suite of affiliate services that include national service programs like AmeriCorps, pass-through grants, direct staff support, an online Affiliate Resource Center, an annual National Conference and more

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 17, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID) released the legislative text of their bipartisan housing finance reform proposal. The bill as drafted would provide the most significant new investment in rental housing affordable to America’s neediest families in forty years. It could provide over $3.5 billion a year for the National Housing Trust Fund.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 17, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Four student-led teams from 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 the Revolutionary War-era DeBaun House in Bergen County, New Jersey into new permanent supportive housing for homeless veterans.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 17, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The following is a statement by National Association of Realtors® President Steve Brown:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 17, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Gray Construction of Lexington, Ky. was named the nation’s safest construction company in 2013 by the Associated General Contractors of America. The association, which oversees the Willis Construction Safety Excellence Awards, an annual ranking of construction safety programs, noted that 51 other companies were selected as winners for the quality of their safety programs

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 17, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today announced that Tim C. Walton, director of external affairs and public policy at CIANBRO, Pittsfield, Maine, will serve as ABC’s ambassador to Merit Canada. The position will directly support and promote the efforts of the CAN-AM Merit Alliance, formed between ABC and Merit Canada to further promote free enterprise and the merit shop philosophy, under which construction contracts are awarded to construction companies based on merit.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 17, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Driven by a $83.5 billion increase in senior home equity, the NRMLA/RiskSpan Reverse Mortgage Market Index (RMMI) rose in Q4 2013 by 2.4% to 169.8, its highest level since Q1 2008.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 17, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Builder confidence in the market for newly-built, single-family homes rose one point to 47 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released today.