Yearly Archives: 2018

Existing-home sales slumped for the second consecutive month in January and experienced their largest decline on an annual basis in over three years, according to the National Association of Realtors®. All major regions saw monthly and annual sales declines last month.

Nine of the nation’s largest private foundations have joined forces in a commitment to end housing instability in America. The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Ford Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The JPB Foundation

Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors, a nationally-recognized real estate brokerage and advisory firm specializing in retail property sales, announced today that Executive Vice Presidents Eric Wohl and Kevin Fryman, along with President Ed Hanley, represented Phillips Edison & Company, Inc., the seller, in the sale of a Safeway-anchored 87,697-square-foot shopping center in the Denver metro area. Hanley Investment Group also represented the buyer, Midtown National Group, LP of San Diego, California, in the transaction.

International award-winning KTGY Architecture + Planning has named Jeremy Agraz as national development director, CEO Tricia Esser announced today. “We’re excited to welcome Jeremy Agraz to this national development role, confident that his passion for the built environment and his dedication to pursuing strategic goals will make a meaningful contribution to the long-term success of our firm,” Esser said. “Jeremy’s proven professional accomplishments and unique approach to development align with our firm’s vision of a continual search for better.”

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) commended legislation filed in the California Legislature on Friday that would make it easier for businesses, schools, nonprofits and municipalities to access solar energy. In turn, this will help generate thousands of new jobs and millions of dollars of investment in the state.

A surge in multifamily production pushed overall housing starts up 9.7 percent in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.33 million units after an upwardly revised December reading, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) sent a letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Mel Watt on Friday demanding an explanation for his decision to continue payments to the Housing Trust Fund and Capital Magnet Fund (the Funds) in the wake of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s (GSEs) latest infusion of taxpayer funds from Treasury.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today announced that, as part of her fight to protect the District of Columbia’s right to self-government, as well as LGBT and reproductive rights in D.C., she would introduce a bill to end the unique applicability of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) to the District. RFRA, which provides more protection for religious exercise than the First Amendment, applies to the federal government, D.C. government and the territorial governments, but not state governments.

The Trump administration is ignoring existing tools to improve the infrastructure permitting process and instead is attacking the nation’s bedrock environmental laws, according to a new analysis from the Center for American Progress.

This week, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), unveiled several bills to be considered for, comprehensive energy legislation. Specifically, Sen. Cantwell’s bills address enhancing cybersecurity in the energy sector, modernizing and securing the grid, expanding our energy workforce, and accelerating the transition to cost-saving smart buildings.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released the following statement on the flawed Reveal News analysis on mortgage lending: "There is no place in our society for discriminatory lending practices and MBA and its members continue to support policies that ensure fair and equal access to mortgage credit regardless of race or ethnicity.

Results achieved from focused expertise in the net lease sector

Mortgage applications decreased 4.1 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 9, 2018. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 4.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.

NLIHC commends the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA’s) decision to continue Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s (the enterprises’) contributions to the national Housing Trust Fund (HTF), the first new federal housing resource in a generation that exclusively serves the lowest income seniors, people with disabilities, families with children, and people experiencing and at risk of homelessness

The Alliance 50x50 Commission on U.S. Transportation Sector Efficiency (“50x50 Commission”) published a foundational white paper Wednesday outlining the challenges to reduce energy use in transportation and the transformation occurring through increased use of alternative fuels, advanced vehicle technologies, automation and shared mobility that can lead to significant reductions in energy use.

David H. Stevens, CMB, President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), released the following statement praising the House passage of H.R. 3978, the TRID Improvement Act, and, in particular, the inclusion of the language from two individual bills - H.R. 2948 and the previously free-standing H.R. 3978

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) released the following statement harshly criticizing Fannie Mae’s request for bailout funds from Treasury and calling on FHFA Director Mel Watt to stand by his word and immediately suspend payments to the Housing Trust Fund.

Several District Government agencies have closed a financing deal that will preserve 220 affordable housing units in the long vacant Parkway Overlook Apartments in the Ward 8 neighborhood of Congress Heights. The project—which will consist mostly of family-sized units—will also provide workforce development training to residents and energy savings through the installation of solar panels.

President Trump’s draft budget released today proposes to slash funding for the Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) program by $1.3 billion, a 65 percent cut from the 2017 budget. Trump’s budget serves as a starting point for congressional negotiations as well as a blueprint for the administration’s priorities.