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A Rare Occurrence: The Geography and Race of Mortgages Over $500,000, released today by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), reveals that only 5% of the mortgages obtained in the past three years in the U.S. were larger than $500,000 and that lowering the Mortgage Interest Deduction (MID) cap to $500,000 would have no impact on the majority of homeowners nationwide given the rarity of mortgages over that amount

Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) made the following comments today about the financial condition of the Federal Housing Administration’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund. An independent actuarial analysis released today shows the MMI Fund’s capital ratio stands at 2.07 percent—the first time since 2008 that FHA’s reserve ratio meets the legally required threshold of 2 percent.

The Georgia Initiative for Community Housing (GICH) program recognized the cities of Covington, Gainesville, Pembroke, Rome, Thomasville, Valdosta, Vienna and Washington for their efforts to increase affordable housing and to revitalize their communities at the “Celebrating a Decade of Success” awards event held October 21 at the UGA Georgia Center in Athens.

Tom Woods, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Blue Springs, Mo., issued the following statement after the Federal Housing Administration released its annual actuarial report to Congress

Patricia R. “Trish” Healy, founding principal of Hyde Street Holdings, LLC in Raleigh, North Carolina, has been named Chairman of the Americas for the Urban Land Institute (ULI), a non-profit research and education institute with more than 36,000 members dedicated to leadership in real estate and land use and creating thriving communities worldwide. Healy, a longtime ULI member, ULI Foundation Governor, and former ULI Trustee, will serve in this position through June 30, 2018.

Bill Shelton, director of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Excellence in Virginia Government Awards (EVGA) Luncheon hosted by the Virginia Commonwealth University L. Douglas Wilder School. This award recognizes a Virginian whose career represents the highest values of public service and citizenship and who has made a substantial contribution to the good of the commonwealth

Senator John Hoeven today joined state, local and university leaders in dedicating the North Dakota Agriculture Experiment Station Research Greenhouse Complex, a $33.5 million state-of-the-art facility at North Dakota State University (NDSU) that provides enhanced education and advanced research in plant breeding, genetics, horticulture, entomology, plant pathology, plant nutrition and associated disciplines.

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the settlement of a dissolution action against a cooperative housing corporation, Ft. George Apt. Corp., and its shareholders, the affiliated entities Fort George Property, LLC, Fort George Realty, LLC, and NY Tryon Realty LLC. The settlement resolves allegations that Ft. George Apt. Corp. exploited the rent stabilization exemption available to housing cooperatives – an exemption that is meant to promote homeownership by protecting individual homeowners, not landlords. Under the settlement, all tenants residing in the building will be entitled to rent-stabilized leases at affordable rents.

The Arlington County Board today adopted an amendment to its refuse code that will bring year-round yard waste curbside collection services to households beginning April 1, 2016. The new program is expected to divert up to 9,000 more tons of compostable material from the waste stream, increasing Arlington’s recycling rate by up to 13 percent. The County’s current residential recycling rate is among the highest in the region, at 47.2 percent.

The County of Maui Dept. of Parks and Recreation announced that the South Maui Community Park Playground and upper parking area will be closed for renovations from Monday, Nov. 16 through Wednesday, Nov. 18 from 6 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.; the parking lot only will open after 4 p.m. Partial closure of the playground area will take place Thursday, Nov. 19 through Monday, Nov. 30, 2015.

With the Governor’s recent call for California to use more renewable energy, the City of Sacramento is making it easier to install small residential solar energy systems by offering an expedited building permit process. ThroughSacramento Streamline, homeowners and contractors are able to apply for a residential solar installation permit and receive approval in three days or less, with most being approved within one day.

The Kentucky Public Transportation Infrastructure Authority (KPTIA) has been approved for membership in E-ZPass Group, which operates a common electronic toll payment program in 15 other states.

The Baker-Polito Administration announced a program that will provide homeless veterans with housing services. Under the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program, the administration is allocating 65 rental vouchers to chronically homeless veterans who were identified by the local veterans’ committees across the Commonwealth. These vouchers can be used to pay for rental units and will assist the Commonwealth in its goal of ending veteran’s homelessness.

Join MEREDA for breakfast on December 10th from 7:30 AM - 9:00 AM at the Portland Regency Hotel for a thought provoking conversation and learn about trends in Maine lake health, new cross-sector initiatives to protect our lakes, and how a program called LakeSmart can help communities safeguard their freshwater resources

On November 12, HUD announced a proposed rule that would prohibit smoking in public housing nationwide due to the dangers of second-hand smoke. The proposal could impact about one million households. Importantly, the ban would extend to outdoor areas, including up to 25 feet of common areas and administrative office buildings. Critics charge that the ban is yet another challenge for the already burdened public housing agencies.

The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced today the 2015 recipients of its school district scholarship program. The five selected school districts will receive ongoing support from the Center for Green Schools over the course of the next year and will benefit from connections with a broad network of school sustainability leaders.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced today its 2016 Board of Directors and Advisory Council members. The new governance structure of two leadership bodies will officially be implemented in 2016

Erie County’s Department of Social Services will begin accepting applications for Home Energy Assistance Program regular benefits next week, with county officials anticipating receiving more than 20,000 HEAP applications by the end of December

The Sierra Club released polling today showing significant support for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan among registered voters in key states. The new polls come on the eve of votes expected next week in the US Senate on Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions intended to derail the policy and its historic public health protections against carbon pollution

A key mortgage lending reform – which would be rolled back by a bill coming up for a vote in the House of Representatives next week – commands the support of an overwhelming majority of voters, according to a poll conducted this summer by Lake Research on behalf of Americans for Financial Reform and the Center for Responsible Lending