Yearly Archives: 2017

Existing-homes sales have retreated in four of the past five months, but new survey findings from the National Association of Realtors® indicate it is not because of a lack of confidence from consumers about buying and selling a home, or based on their views about the direction of the economy and their finances

The Justice Department announced today that SolarCity Corporation (SolarCity) has agreed to pay $29.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting inflated claims on behalf of itself and affiliated investment funds to the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) pursuant to Section 1603 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Section 1603).

New data released today in the National Housing Preservation Database (NHPD) shows that nearly 500,000 federally-assisted apartments or rental homes will reach the end of their current subsidy contracts and affordability restrictions for low-income families in the next five years. Nearly one in four of these units are funded by Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC).

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke today announced that $94.3 million will be distributed for outdoor recreation and conservation projects to the 50 states, U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which is funded through offshore oil and gas leasing. These funds are awarded through federal matching grants that leverage public and private investment in America’s state and local public parks.

An energy efficiency initiative led by the city of Knoxville, Tennessee, the Alliance to Save Energy and other partners is among six finalists for the international C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards in the Cities4Energy category

Thanks for that kind introduction, Matt and thank you for your leadership at ACU— one of America’s oldest and largest conservative grassroots organization. Of course I also want to congratulate your family on Mercedes’ return to the White House. I am confident that she is going to do a great job communicating President Trump’s ambitious agenda for this country.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the East Chicago Housing Authority (ECHA) in East Chicago, Indiana, $4 million for demolition of the West Calumet public housing complex. HUD has also finalized approval of the demolition plan by ECHA of the complex.

A federal court has found that Jeremy Foti and Charles Marshall, acting through Brookstone Law and Advantis Law, “made numerous false and/or misleading material statements to consumers” when selling legal services for purported mortgage relief.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) has completed an all-day tour of areas in Florida hardest hit by Hurricane Irma, including downtown Jacksonville and the Keys. Together with a bipartisan delegation, Ryan expressed his commitment to make sure communities have the federal resources they need to rebuild in the aftermath of the storm.

The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) will serve as a platinum sponsor supporting organization of the fifth annual Design & Construction Week (DCW).

Existing-home sales stumbled in August for the fourth time in five months as strained supply levels continue to subdue overall activity, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Sales gains in the Northeast and Midwest were outpaced by declines in the South and West.

Despite negative public perception, high-voltage overhead transmission lines have little impact on nearby property values, according to an article published this week in The Appraisal Journal.

Global real estate investment and services firm, Kennedy Wilson , has negotiated a two-part sale of the ground lease and underlying fee interest in land located at 1420 Kettner Blvd. in the Little Italy submarket of San Diego, California. The seven-story building is comprised of approximately 123,000 square feet of commercial office space and sits on a 2.6-acre parcel of land.

Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,300,000. This is 5.7 percent (±2.0 percent) above the revised July rate of 1,230,000 and is 8.3 percent (±1.6 percent) above the August 2016 rate of 1,200,000. Single-family authorizations in August were at a rate of 800,000; this is 1.5 percent (±1.3 percent) below the revised July figure of 812,000.

LOS ANGELES – Sept. 20, 2017 - (RealEstateRama) -- Global real estate investment and services firm Kennedy Wilson has been tapped as the official...

GRESB, the Global ESG Benchmark for real assets, today released the results of its annual 2017 GRESB Real Estate Assessment for the North American real estate sector.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who asked the U.S. State Department to address a growing number of buildings owned by foreign governments in the District of Columbia that have been vacated and fallen into poor condition, released the U.S. State Department Office of Foreign Missions’ (OFM) response to her letter, which shows heightened progress on a number of these properties.

Mortgage applications decreased 9.7 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 15, 2017. Last week's results included an adjustment for the Labor Day holiday.

Nationwide housing starts fell 0.8 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.18 million units, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department. Single-family production rose 1.6 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 851,000 after a downwardly revised July reading. Year-to-date, single-family starts are 8.9 percent above their level over the same period last year.

The solar industry responded to the New York Public Service Commission’s (Commission) approval of utility implementation plans in the Value of Distributed Energy Resources (VDER) proceeding. These critical plans set the compensation for solar customers in each utility service territory and established a successor program to net metering in New York.