Yearly Archives: 2016

Industry Officials Caution that Worker Shortages Could Undermine Sector’s Recovery and Stall Broader Economic Growth without Measures to Recruit and Train New Generation of Craft Workers for the Industry

Private-Sector Outlays Rise 1.0 Percent for the Month While Public Sector Investments in Infrastructure, Other Construction Fall 3.1 Percent as New Survey Finds Most Firms Having Hard Time Finding Craft Workers

Consumers Energy is assisting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on work taking place at Tippy Dam this week to protect salmon, lake trout and other fish species in the Great Lakes. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel are applying lampricides to the Manistee River at Tippy Dam to control sea lamprey larvae from the hydro facility downstream to Lake Michigan, a distance of 29 miles.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it is charging a group of landlords in the Pittsburgh area with discriminating against prospective residents who have disabilities. HUD claims the owners and property managers of Beechwood Gardens in Pittsburgh and Southpointe Towers in West Mifflin denied housing to testers posing as prospective renters by refusing to grant them reasonable accommodations.

The principals of a mortgage relief operation and their companies are banned from the mortgage loan modification and debt relief business under court orders obtained by the Federal Trade Commission. The orders resolve charges that the scheme falsely promised financially distressed homeowners they would receive legal representation to prevent foreclosure or lower their mortgage payments and interest rates, and illegally charged thousands of dollars in advance

The Modular Building Institute’s (MBI) US and Canadian Foundations are pleased to announce two recipients of educational scholarships in 2016. Annually, the foundations provide $5,000 in scholarships to employees of MBI member companies or employee spouses, children, or grandchildren. The US Foundation provides one $2,500 scholarship and the Canadian Foundation provides one $2,500 scholarship. Applicants apply directly to the foundations and must be enrolled or enrolling in two- or four-year schools

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its mid-year ranking of commercial and multifamily mortgage servicers' volume as of June 30, 2016.  At the top of the list is Wells Fargo Bank N.A. with $502.2 billion in U.S. master and primary servicing, followed by PNC Real Estate/Midland Loan Services with $499.1 billion, Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC with $220.6 billion, KeyBank N.A. with $195.4 billion, and CBRE Loan Services with $108.3 billion.

Delinquency rates for commercial and multifamily mortgage loans remained low in the second quarter of 2016, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Commercial/Multifamily Delinquency Report.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), Northeast and Caribbean Region, announced the award of a construction contract at the Federico Degetau Federal Building in the amount of $11,282,056 to RB Construction Group, Inc., a small business based in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico.

The National Association of Realtors® has named 10 Realtors® as finalists for REALTOR® Magazine’s 2016 Good Neighbor Awards. This award honors Realtors® who have made an extraordinary impact on their communities through volunteer work.

Independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks reported a net gain of $1,686 on each loan they originated in the second quarter of 2016, up from a reported gain of $825 per loan in the first quarter of 2016, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported today in its Quarterly Mortgage Bankers Performance Report.

Pending home sales expanded in most of the country in July and reached their second highest reading in over a decade, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Only the Midwest saw a dip in contract activity last month

Mortgage applications increased 2.8 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 26, 2016.

In an effort to immediately help young children with elevated blood lead levels living in federally assisted housing, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is proposing to lower the Department’s threshold of lead in the child’s blood to match the one used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). HUD’s proposed new reference level for lead in a young child’s blood would be lowered from 20 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood (µg/dL) to five, and continue to be aligned with CDC recommendations in the future. Read HUD’s proposed rule.

NeighborWorks America knows that manufactured housing can help solve America’s affordable housing crisis. It is a vital resource for many elderly and low-income homeowners. Particularly in rural, high-poverty areas, it may be the best housing option. Manufactured housing can offer benefits to buyers including lower cost and improved energy efficiency compared with site-built homes. Increasing the energy-efficiency of manufactured homes can help make homeownership a sustainable investment for low- and moderate-income families long-term.

Located in Phoenix, Cedar Crossing is a 74-unit complex developed by National Equity Fund partner, Native American Connections. It is a unique multiphase housing community that encompasses numerous supportive services followed up with access to transitional and ultimately permanent affordable housing.