Yearly Archives: 2017

Established by the U.S. Congress in 1974, the National Institute of Building Sciences has, from its beginnings, served as an authoritative source of information on building science and technology. More than four decades since its founding, this non-profit, non-governmental organization still brings the public and private sectors together to find solutions to make buildings better, safer, more economical places to live, work, play and learn.

Cases of chilled bottled water, protective lightweight clothing, sun visors and shaded tent areas, coupled with mandatory training on dealing with extreme heat, are just some of the ways crews building the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway are prepared for temperatures forecast to surge beyond 110.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the national trade association for the solar industry, said today that an estimated 88,000 jobs, about one-third of the current American solar workforce, would be lost if Suniva gets trade protections proposed in its petition with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC)

Led by a decline in multifamily production, nationwide housing starts fell 5.5 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.09 million units, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department. Multifamily starts fell 9.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 289,000 units while single-family production edged down 3.9 percent to 794,000.

NeighborWorks America vice president of homeownership and lending, Marietta Rodriguez, today said that she expects the number of NeighborWorks network nonprofits that provide realty services to grow over the short- to medium-term as more organizations look to build revenue producing social enterprises that complement their mission to expand homeownership opportunities throughout their communities. Currently, nearly three dozen NeighborWorks organizations have licensed real estate brokerage services

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced he will be joined by Secretary of the Treasury Steven T. Mnuchin, Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta, and Secretary of Energy Rick Perry at the 2017 SelectUSA Investment Summit, June 18-20, at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

Associated Builders and Contractors applauded President Donald J. Trump on today’s executive action on apprenticeships, which is an important step toward building new career opportunities for all Americans

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today applauded Gov. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) for signing legislation into law that will promote open competition in the procurement of construction services funded by Florida taxpayers.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) applauds the release of Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 allocations of state-by-state funding levels for the national Housing Trust Fund (HTF) from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The funding, approved on Wednesday, June 14, is an important step towards alleviating the severe shortage of homes affordable to the lowest income people across the country

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has selected 22 leaders to participate in its 2017 Executive Energy Leadership program (Energy Execs). Energy Execs provides non-technical business, governmental, and community leaders throughout the country an opportunity to learn about renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies, analytical tools, and financing to guide their organizations and communities in energy-related decisions and planning

Mercer Vine, an innovative leader in Los Angeles luxury real estate, has listed the fully re-imagined home at 627 N. Palm Drive for $15.995 million. First built in 1929, the home’s original architect was the vision of renowned architect Ralph Flewelling. After the complete redesign, STANDARD Architecture created a truly unique homage to Spanish Colonial and classic Beverly Hills design located in the heart one of the world’s top luxury destinations.

June is National Homeownership Month and the District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) is announcing its first closing of the Home Purchase Assistance Program (HPAP). On June 12, Leonidas Saturria Rosario and Lurden Martinez de Saturria became homeowners with the assistance of the HPAP program. “We are happy and satisfied that our prayers of being homeowners have been answered. We are not priced out of the market and can afford to stay in D.C. thanks to HPAP.”

Time is running out to submit an abstract to present at Building Innovation 2018: The National Institute of Building Sciences Sixth Annual Conference and Expo. The deadline is this Friday, June 16, to participate in the industry’s only all-inclusive Conference where members of the entire building community come together to connect, collaborate and create solutions that benefit the built environment.

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes weakened slightly in June, down two points to a level of 67 from a downwardly revised May reading of 69 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI)

More than 800 builders from across the nation marched on Capitol Hill today for the annual National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Legislative Conference to call on Congress to make housing and homeownership a national priority and to support policies that will keep the housing recovery moving forward

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Builder Application Survey (BAS) data for May 2017 shows mortgage applications for new home purchases increased 15 percent compared to May 2016. Compared to April 2017, applications increased by 4 percent relative to the previous month. This change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns

Mortgage applications increased 2.8 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 9, 2017. Last week's results included an adjustment for the Memorial Day holiday.

David H. Stevens, CMB, President & CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), released the following statement following the Senate Banking Committee approving the nomination of Pam Patenaude to be the Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Total commercial/multifamily debt outstanding rose to $3.01 trillion at the end of the first quarter of 2017, the first time it has broken the $3 trillion mark.  Multifamily mortgage debt outstanding rose to $1.17 trillion, an increase of $23.4 billion, or 2.0 percent, from the fourth of quarter of 2016.