Yearly Archives: 2016

Statement from MBA President & CEO David H. Stevens on the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau's (CFPB) proposed updates to the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure "Know Before You Owe"

In accordance with the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, HUD published a Notice in the July 29, 2016, 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 in Arkansas, Florida, and Texas

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that the Springfield Housing Authority in Springfield, MA, has entered into agreements settling allegations of housing discrimination based on disability. The allegations involved an 82-year-old deaf housing authority resident who allegedly did not receive the same access to communications as individuals without disabilities, as required by the Fair Housing Act, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Read the Conciliation and Voluntary Compliance agreements.

The challenges and opportunities associated with creating effective public-private partnerships in the current economic environment are explored in Successful Public-Private Partnerships: From Principles to Practice, a new publication from the Urban Land Institute (ULI).

NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, has implemented new strategic initiatives that seek to advance diversity in commercial real estate by leveraging NAIOP’s network, embracing companies’ values and engaging the interests of those typically under-represented in the industry

A new wave of predatory real estate lending, previously peddled to African-Americans during the 1930s to 1960s, is popping up across the nation as Wall Street investment companies move to profit off foreclosed homes, according to a new report by the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC). Toxic Transactions: How Land Installment Contracts Once Again Threaten Communities of Color details how land contracts are marketed disproportionately to low-income families of color as an alternative path to homeownership but instead allow investors to avoid responsibility for property upkeep while churning successive would-be homeowners through a property they could not legally rent.

Construction employment increased in 39 states between June 2015 and June 2016, although half the states shed construction jobs between May and June, according to analysis of Labor Department data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said the flattening of monthly employment gains and losses indicates the urgency of beefing up programs to attract, train and retain construction workers.

Pending home sales were mostly unmoved in June, but did creep slightly higher as supply and affordability constraints prevented a bigger boost in activity from mortgage rates that lingered near all-time lows through most of the month, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Increases in the Northeast and Midwest were offset by declines in the South and West.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today announced Geographic Targeting Orders (GTO) that will temporarily require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies used to pay “all cash” for high-end residential real estate in six major metropolitan areas. FinCEN remains concerned that all-cash purchases (i.e., those without bank financing) may be conducted by individuals attempting to hide their assets and identity by purchasing residential properties through limited liability companies or other opaque structures. To better understand this vulnerability, FinCEN issued similar GTOs earlier this year covering transactions in Manhattan and Miami-Dade County, Florida. The GTOs announced today will expand upon the valuable information received from the initial GTOs

An overwhelming four-out-of-five Americans believe that owning a home is a good investment, according to a recent poll commissioned by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) to gauge public sentiment on the value of homeownership and government programs that encourage homeownership and housing production. A nationwide survey of more than 2,800 registered voters was conducted July 22-24 by the polling firm Morning Consult.

The alarming security, economic, and political trends in Libya are currently a critical issue for the international community. Despite some progress toward establishing a unified government and against the growing presence of the Islamic State, or IS, in Libya, the country faces an extraordinarily difficult rebuilding effort. While Libya’s problems are legion, establishing a single government and creating a more secure environment are the first orders of business.

Fifty-five New York City elected officials have signed an open letter to developer Charles Dayan, new owner of the Hamilton at 1735 York Avenue, calling on him to restore the middle class jobs at the building where workers have had their jobs for decades

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.

Sales of new single-family houses in June 2016 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 592,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau. This is 3.5 percent (±23.9%)* above the revised May rate of 572,000 and is 25.4 percent (±27.9%)* above the June 2015 estimate of 472,000.