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WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 16, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation named NYU’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy a recipient of the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. This distinguished award recognizes the Furman Center’s excellence in providing objective, policy-relevant research to address the challenges facing neighborhoods in New York City and across the nation. The award comes with a grant of $1 million, which the Furman Center will use to broaden its research and policy analysis to more national issues.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 16, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The cost of construction materials is showing signs of accelerating after moderating in January, according to an analysis of producer price index figures and recent market information released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Ongoing price increases underscore the urgency of funding public construction projects promptly, association officials said.

WASHINGTON, DC - February 16, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- To improve performance and boost the capacity of state and local governments to implement their federal block grant programs for housing and community development, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is making nearly $62 million available through the Office of Community Planning and Development’s (CPD) OneCPD and Core Curricula Programs. Read HUD’s Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).

Chicago, IL - February 16, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Last year, more than 20,200 homes repossessed through foreclosure were resold in the metropolitan Chicago real estatemarket, including single-family residences, townhouses and condominium units. The median sales price of those homes was $74,200, according to RE/MAX.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 16, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Helen Kanovsky, General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”), and David A. Montoya, the Inspector General of HUD, announced today that the United States has filed, and simultaneously settled, a civil fraud lawsuit against CITIMORTGAGE, INC. (“CITIMORTGAGE”), a subsidiary of CITIBANK, N.A. The Government’s Complaint seeks damages and civil penalties under the False Claims Act and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (“FIRREA”) for over six years of misconduct in connection with CITIMORTGAGE’s participation in the Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”) Direct Endorsement Lender Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 16, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nationwide housing affordability, as measured by the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), rose to a record level during the fourth quarter of 2011, while prospective home buyers continued to feel the constraints of tighter credit standards and a soft economy.

BOSTON, MA - February 15, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) --Financing from MassHousing, New Market Tax Credits and union pension funds will provide $46.8 million in capital to help construct the 225 Centre Street development in Jamaica Plain, a project that wi...

BOSTON, MA - February 15, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- MassHousing announced a loan closing today of $14.5 million to preserve affordability for senior citizens and low-income families at the 161-unit Marcus Garvey Apartments in Roxbury.

NEW ORLEANS, LA - February 15, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- This past week marked a significant Hurricane Katrina recovery milestone for Orleans Parish, with the last household within the community living in a Federal Emergency Management Agency THU movi...

MONMOUTH JUNCTION, N.J. - February 15, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Active adult home buyers’ tastes and needs vary; yet active adult residences are often monotonous, cookie-cutter homes. Not so at Villagio in South Brunswick just minutes from Princeto...

CHICAGO, IL - February 15, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Gary Miller, a real estate agent with RE/MAX Destiny in Elk Grove Village, Ill., will soon get a taste of fame: he and two of his clients will appear on an episode of HGTV's House Hunters in May, with filming to begin later this month.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 15, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Kevin Kelly, a Delaware builder and developer with more than 30 years of experience in the building industry, was elected as the 2012 Second Vice Chairman of the Board of the National Associati...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 15, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Home builder confidence in the market for new single-family homes increased for the fifth consecutive month in February, rising from 25 to 29 on the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released today. It is the highest level the index has reached in more than four years.

NEWARK, NJ - February 14, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- TreeTop Development, a Newark, N.J.-based multi-faceted real estate company that has owned and self managed over 3,000 residential homes throughout New York and New Jersey, recently completed the pur...

February 14, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Community Neighborhood Housing Services and BankCherokee were awarded $159,000 to rehabilitate 30 homes and help struggling homeowners with home repairs, including roof replacement, structural repairs or landsc...

WASHINGTON, DC - February 14, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan addressed the National Association of Regional Councils and announced that HUD’s fiscal year 2013 budget proposal includes $100 million to fund Regional Planning and Community Challenge Grants. The grants are part of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, which is an association between HUD, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency joining the federal government with local partners in taking a pragmatic, regional approach to problem solving that supports local leadership, local resources, and local innovation.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 14, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- President Barack Obama’s FY13 budget request, released today, struggles to keep housing programs funded at a basic level while relying on the lowest income Americans to bear part of the burden of deficit reduction.

WASHINGTON, DC - February 14, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) held a hearing on the state of the housing market, and barriers to recovery. The Committee heard from economists and experts in the field, and discussed possible solutions to revitalize the housing market and boost economic growth.

February 14, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Barry Rutenberg, a Gainesville, Fla.-based home builder with more than 35 years of experience in the building industry, was elected as the 2012 Chairman of the Board of the National Association of Home Builders (...

February 14, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Tom Woods, a Blue Springs, Mo.-based home builder with more than 40 years of experience in the home building industry, was elected as the 2012 third vice chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAH...