Yearly Archives: 2017

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes increased five points to a level of 74 in December on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) after a downwardly revised November reading. This was the highest report since July 1999, over 18 years ago.

House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) sent a letter to founder and CEO of Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard, inviting him to testify before the Committee on the Antiquities Act, national monuments and federal land management.

While the preservation of Low Income Housing Tax Credits and Private Activity Bonds avoids an immediate devastating impact on affordable housing, this bill will exacerbate our country’s already yawning income inequality and will harm efforts to end homelessness and housing poverty. An estimated 64% of the bill’s benefits go to the top 1% of earners, at a cost to the country of over $1 trillion.

Twenty-five years ago this year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched a program to help households living in assisted housing to become self-sufficient. Today, HUD marked the 25th anniversary of the Family Self-Sufficiency Program (FSS)by awarding $75 million to continue helping public housing residents, those participating in the Housing Choice Voucher Program and residents of Project-Based Rental Assistance to further their education and find good jobs.

Despite steady job creation, record stock market gains and faster economic growth in recent months, new consumer findings from the National Association of Realtors® surprisingly show that a smaller share of households believe that now is a good time to buy or sell a home.

The restaurant tenants tend to have leases that feature 10 percent rent escalations every five years or 2 percent rent escalations annually. Steady investor demand has kept restaurant net lease cap

The Boulder Group, a net leased investment brokerage firm, has completed the sale of a single tenant net leased Merchant’s Tire property located at 215 Hillcrest Parkway in Chesapeake, Virginia for $3,150,000.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it reached a Conciliation Agreement with the owner and property manager of Shadowbrook Gardens Senior Townhomes in Morgan Hill, California, a city in Santa Clara County, resolving allegations that they discriminated against a resident with disabilities

The Federal Communications Commission today announced a rollback of net neutrality rules, sparking a swift rebuke from the nation’s 1.3 million REALTORS®. “The internet as we know it today is a fair and open platform that puts everyone on a level playing field,” said National Association of REALTORS® President Elizabeth Mendenhall

The Department of Energy held a Puerto Rico Power Resiliency Workshop on December 13, 2017 to gather experts from the whole community of public and private energy stakeholders to support a long-term plan to enhance the resilience of Puerto Rico’s energy infrastructure. The conversation at the workshop was driven by a dialogue of existing Puerto Rico energy plans, developed by several organizations, and stimulated innovative ideas and a path forward for developing a cohesive plan for Puerto Rico’s economic prosperity through resilient energy development.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue today highlighted U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) investments in Fiscal Year 2017 that will help construct or improve infrastructure and boost economic growth in rural communities.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt praised the U.S. Senate’s action to confirm David Ross to serve as the assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Water.

This week, the Financial Services Committee approved 13 billson a range of subjects from economic growth, to consumer protection, to Native American housing and human trafficking. This week’s markup follows a very productive year for the Committee, which has held 54 subcommittee hearings

The U.S. installed more than 2 gigawatts (GW) of solar photovoltaics (PV) in the third quarter of 2017, despite experiencing higher prices across all market segments and major policy uncertainty. In their latest U.S. Solar Market Insight report, GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) said prices rose due to a tight global supply of modules and

A federal jury found two Los Angeles, California-area managers of foreclosure rescue companies guilty today for their roles in a foreclosure rescue scheme. Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Chief Economist Anirban Basu predicts stability for the construction industry’s economy and expanding nonresidential construction spending in 2018. While construction project backlog and contractor confidence remain high heading into the new year, Basu warns there are risks to the 2018 outlook as a number of potential cost increases could come into play.

MBA President and CEO David H. Stevens, CMB, released the following statement regarding the final passage by the House Financial Services Committee of H.R. 2948, The SAFE Transitional Licensing Act; H.R. 4545, The Financial Institutions Examination Fairness and Reform Act; and H.R. 4560, The GSE Jumpstart Reauthorization Act of 2017.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) are continuing their dedication to closing the skilled labor gap in 2018, by helping to kick off the second year of the This Old HouseGeneration Next campaign to encourage and empower young people to join the skilled trades. Design & Construction Week® (DCW), the co-location of NAHB’s International Builders’ Show® (IBS) and NKBA’s Kitchen & Bath Industry

What are Colorado’s hottest neighborhoods? Denver’s West Colfax and Chaffee Park are on the list, as are Old Town in Windsor, Downtown in Colorado Springs, and Keewaydin in Boulder. That’s according to December’s “Hot Hoodz,” released by zavvie, a national HyperLocal and social media real estate marketing startup based in Boulder.