Yearly Archives: 2016

Members of the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Log and Timber Homes Council (LTHC) are celebrating National Log Home Open House Month in July for the fifth consecutive year. This month, LTHC members will honor log homes, an American icon, by hosting home tours, holding log raising demonstrations, giving mill tours, sponsoring seminars and much more.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced $24 million in grants to assist more than 1,200 low-income persons living with HIV/AIDS and their families annually. These grants provide a combination of housing assistance and supportive services for this vulnerable population

The Washington State Housing Finance Commission recently approved more than $216 million in financing to construct or preserve almost 900 units of affordable housing—most of them for seniors

A new video from Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) tells the story of the Murr family, who have fought all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop bureaucrats from robbing them of a family legacy — a vacant parcel along the St. Croix River in Wisconsin that their late parents purchased in the early 1960s as a family investment.

This Independence Day, Americans will be celebrating the 240th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. And the solar industry, in the midst of a revolution of its own, is providing new tools that give consumers a measure of energy independence.

Wheatland, CA—Mercy Housing and the City of Wheatland celebrated the completion of the reconstruction of Sunset Valley Duplexes in Wheatland, Calif. on June, 29, 2016. These 88 affordable rental homes are much needed as the state and national affordable housing crises continue, and in many places worsen

Mortgage applications decreased 2.6 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 24, 2016

Outlook Appears Favorable, as Weather Anomalies May Have Distorted Monthly Results, but Contractors Fret About Finding Enough Qualified Workers; Association Officials Push Congress to Renew, Reform Perkins Act

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today awarded more than $5 million to 42 local public housing authorities across the country that are working aggressively to end veteran homelessness. HUD is awarding additional funds to help these housing authorities administer a joint program with HUD and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) which provides permanent homes and needed services to veterans experiencing long-term, chronic homelessness (see local funding below)

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it is making a series of enhancements to the Department's Distressed Asset Stabilization Program (DASP) that would have purchasers of severely delinquent mortgages offer qualified borrowers principal reductions and protection from "payment shock." Certain families with distressed mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) may soon be eligible for a reduction of their outstanding loan amounts should their mortgages be sold through DASP

The Boulder Group’s Research Department has released a new research report providing comprehensive numbers and analysis of the 2nd quarter activity in the National Net Lease Market

Extreme flood insurance rate hikes and inaccurate floodplain maps drive up the cost of homeownership and threaten small businesses, the nation’s home builders told Congress today

Anaheim-Santa Ana and Monroe, Mich. Top Growth List; Midland, Texas, and Bloomington, Ill. Have Largest Declines as Roads & Other Infrastructure Suffer From Neglect 60 Years after First Highway Bill

Flood insurance costs continue to put small businesses and homeownership at risk, but the National Association of Realtors® told U.S. Senators today that a range of solutions are on the horizon

The National Institute of Building Sciences Off-Site Construction Council (OSCC) and the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) will co-sponsor the second webinar in OSCC’s new webinar series designed to share knowledge and improve industry efficiency, productivity and speed to market through the use of pre-fabrication and off-site construction. The webinar, “Precast Concrete Off-Site Construction: Techniques & Case Studies,” will be held July 26 from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm CT (12:00 pm to 1:00 pm ET) and again July 28 from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm CT (12:00 pm to 1:00 pm PT).

On Wednesday, June 29, 2016, the County of Monterey celebrated the grand opening of Camphora Apartments, a development by Eden Housing and South County Housing, in partnership with the County and the City of Soledad. Camphora Apartments is located at 32101 McCoy Road, Soledad, CA 93960

The Boulder Group, a net leased investment brokerage firm, has completed the sale of a single tenant net leased Advance Auto Parts property located at 1200 West Chicago Avenue in East Chicago, Indiana for $1,530,000. East Chicago is a suburb of Chicago located in Northwest Indiana.

The Survey of Market Absorption of New Multifamily Units 2016 First Quarter Absorption report provides absorption details for units constructed in the fourth quarter of 2015. The Survey of Market Absorption of New Multifamily Units is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau on behalf of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This survey measures how soon privately financed, nonsubsidized, unfurnished units in buildings with five or more units are rented (absorbed) after completion.

Urban Land Institute (ULI) leader Stephen R. Quazzo, chief executive officer of Pearlmark Real Estate in Chicago, has been named chairman of the ULI Foundation. A current member of the Foundation’s board of directors, Quazzo will begin his two-year chairmanship term July 1, 2016.

WSSC’s fiscal year 2017 (FY17) operating and capital budget of $1.4 billion goes into effect on July 1. The new budget, focused on continued rehabilitation of aging water and sewer pipelines, includes a 3 percent usage rate increase as well as the full phase-in of the Infrastructure Investment Fee (IIF), an additional $6 per quarter