Yearly Archives: 2016

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced today a new loan modification program that will help borrowers stay in their homes. Under the new program, loan modifications will be available to as many as 30,000 qualified underwater borrowers facing financial hardship with loans now held by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Eligibility also requires that the mortgages have an unpaid principal balance of not more than $250,000 and delinquency of 90 days or longer as of March 1 of this year. Homes must be owner-occupied

With demand exceeding supply in markets across the U.S., homebuyers may be facing an uphill battle to find the perfect home this spring. Total housing inventory at the end of February was 1.88 million existing homes available for sale, 1.1 percent lower than last year and at a 4.4 month supply at the current sales pace, which is below the roughly six month supply level needed for a balanced market between buyers and sellers.

Seizing the momentum from recent New York and California laws that established a $15 state minimum wage, nursing home workers will be joining actions from Florida to California to unite with other nursing home workers this Thursday, April 14, to call for a $15 an hour wage

Cox Communications today announced a major investment in its efforts to narrow the digital divide through its support of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) ConnectHome initiative. Cox Communications is extending its Connect2Compete low-cost Internet offering to any HUD-assisted household with school-age children within Cox’s 18-state service area. Cox operates 6 clustered cable systems in 18 states: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Virginia.

Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) gave the following statement following the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s principal reduction announcement: As Yogi Berra once famously said, “It's déjà vu all over again.” Memories are clearly short among Washington’s ruling elite because they continue repeating the same mistakes that caused the 2008 financial crisis in the first place.

Consumers Energy today congratulated Michigan State University on its transition from coal to natural gas as the energy source for its main campus power plant. “Michigan is at a historic time, making the transition from coal to cleaner forms of energy. We are pleased to play a role in Michigan State University’s transition, providing the natural gas that will fuel the T.B. Simon Power Plant,” said Garrick Rochow, Consumers Energy’s vice president and chief customer officer.

Habitat for Humanity, Inter-American Development Bank and global housing experts make key policy recommendations to address global housing challenges

Mortgage applications increased 10 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 8, 2016.

The American Land Title Association (ALTA), the national trade association of the land title insurance industry, released the following statement in response to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray’s statements on the disclosure of the costs of title insurance in a letter to U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) today

The 2016 National Conference on Ending Homelessness will be held at: Renaissance Hotel, Downtown Washington DC, 999 Ninth Street, Washington, DC 20001

American wind power supported a record 88,000 jobs at the start of 2016—an increase of 20 percent in a year—according to the U.S. Wind Industry Annual Market Report, Year Ending 2015, released today by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Strong job growth coincided with wind ranking number one as America’s leading source of new generating capacity last year, outpacing solar and natural gas.

Altisource Portfolio Solutions S.A., a provider of real estate, mortgage and technology services, today announced a global collaboration with Habitat for Humanity to fund a range of sustainable housing and neighborhood revitalization programs worldwide.

New 'Damning the Amazon' report describes how the proposed Sao Luiz do Tapajós megadam will not only result in rainforest destruction and large greenhouse gas emissions, but it will also violate human rights and displace indigenous communities

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has presented its annual Burton C. Wood Legislative Service Award to Nathan Burch, President of McLean Mortgage in Fairfax, VA. The award was presented at MBA's 2016 National Advocacy Conference in Washington, DC. The award is given annually to an MBA member employee in recognition of his or her sustained superior service to the association and the real-estate finance industry as a whole

USGBC announced the quarterly addenda to the LEEDgreen building rating system, which includes a new pilot Alternative Compliance Path (ACP) credit that is designed to further advance environmentally responsible forest management and help rid our buildings of illegal wood by promoting the use of wood that is verified to be legal.

As we approach Earth Day April 22, NeighborWorks America urges cities to practice these three innovations in green practices. Sprawl just seems to happen, but with the right planning, towns and neighborhoods could be more energy efficient and healthier. For example, a growing trend is the formation of an ecodistrict, a neighborhood where urban planning aims to reduce the ecological footprint — offering benefits such as reduction of transportation-induced greenhouse gas emissions and more green spaces for safe, secure social events.

Ten structural steel building projects have earned national recognition in the 2016 Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structural Steel awards program (IDEAS2). The winning projects and their respective team members were recognized today during the 2016 NASCC: The Steel Conference in Orlando, Fla. Conducted annually by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), the IDEAS2 awards recognize outstanding achievement in engineering and architecture on structural steel projects across the country.

The Center for American Progress, the city of Cleveland and Cleveland State University will host a summit and dialogue on April 20 in Cleveland, Ohio, with Midwestern city and community leaders to discuss successful strategies to improve social equity and climate change resilience in low-income communities

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI)™ today announced a partnership to advance the AIA’s design and health initiative. As the first corporate supporter of the initiative, IWBI will bring leading edge health and design information, research, and professional education opportunities to AIA members to enable their stewardship of health and wellness-focused design and architecture. Through WELL Workshops hosted around the country, AIA will provide educational opportunities to support its membership in becoming WELL Accredited Professionals (WELL APs).

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Library Association (ALA) selected seven recipients to receive the 2016 AIA/ALA Library Building Awards. The AIA and the ALA developed this award program to encourage and recognize excellence in the architectural design of libraries. As the traditional role of libraries evolves, the designs of these community spaces have changed to reflect the needs of the surrounding residence, as represented by the recipients of the AIA/ALA Library Building Awards