Housing & Development

DENVER WASHINGTON, D.C. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced a commitment to insure a mortgage loan to Valley Citizen’s Foundation for Health Care, Inc. which is doing business as Rio Grande Hospital in Del Norte, Colorado. It is estimated the refinanced debt will save the hospital more than $168,000 a year in principal and interest and more than $1.6 million over the life of the loan

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 2, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- McGraw-Hill Construction, part of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), today released its latest SmartMarket Report: New and Remodeled Green Homes: Transforming the Residential Market at the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) National Green Building Conference and Expo. The report includes McGraw-Hill Construction’s estimate that the green homes share of the construction market was 17% in 2011, equating to $17 billion, and expected to rise 29%-38% by 2016, potentially a $87–114 billion opportunity, based on the five-year forecast for overall residential construction.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 2, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Eleven builders, remodelers and other home building industry professionals were honored yesterday as winners of the National Green Building Awards by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The awards were presented during the 14th annual National Green Building Conference held in Nashville, Tenn.

CHICAGO, IL - April 27, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon will visit Rupley Elementary School, 305 Oakton St., Elk Grove Village, Ill., on May 7 when the balloon crew will present an interactive educational program developed and sponsored by the RE/MAX Northern Illinois real estate network.

WASHINGTON, DC - April 26, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) held a hearing entitled “Legislative Proposals in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s FY 2013 Budget.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 26, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mirroring the uneven economic recovery, the housing market is expected to move in a slow, gradual upward path in 2012, while encountering its share of speed bumps along the road, according to economists participating in yesterday’s National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) construction forecast webinar on the housing and economic outlook.

Washington, DC - April 26, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director Edward J. DeMarco today announced the appointment of Denise Dunckel as Senior Associate Director for the Office of Congressional Affairs and Communications where she will manage all internal and external communications for FHFA.

Washington, DC - April 26, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today reported that the National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders, used as an index in some ARM contracts, was 3.90 percent based on loans closed in March. Beginning in March, FHFA is calculating interest rates using un-weighted survey data.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 26, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Optimism continues for the apartment industry, according to the latest results of the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions. The findings reflect a gradual recovery for the multifamily sector that faced a 50-year low in apartment starts in 2009.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 26, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today announced that W. Dean Henry, a real estate executive from Foster City, Calif., has been appointed chairman of NAHB’s Multifamily Leadership Board (MLB). Henry succeeds Charles R. Brindell Jr., chairman and CEO, Mill Creek Residential Trust LLC, and will serve a two-year term.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 26, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- CORRECTION: Due to a recently discovered computer coding error, NAHB has revised the RMI going back to 2006. The error had slightly reduced the true values of the overall index, as well as its two major components. The revisions generally show a one point or less quarterly increase, with quarter-to-quarter patterns remaining relatively unchanged. Some of the subcomponents experienced larger revisions but in a counteracting fashion, so that the impact on the primary indicators was muted.

Upper Marlboro, MD - April 25, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- As part of the development of the 2012 edition of the National Green Building Standard (NGBS), and in accordance with the ANSI consensus process, the NAHB Research Center will commence a 45-day public comment period for the Second Draft of the Standard on April 27, 2012. The NAHB Research Center, an ANSI Accredited Standards Developer, is serving as secretariat of the development process.

Washington, D.C. - April 25, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The American Institute of Architects (AIA) today announced its opposition to a Senate proposal to hike taxes on small businesses who file as so-called Subchapter S Corporations, many of whom are architects.

Miami, Florida USA - April 25, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- QWR.GoFightForeclosure.com today announced a powerful QWR (qualified written request) is the best foreclosure defense for favorable short sale approvals on properties located in Miami, Florida. Citing, QWR Attack! system is being used to help homeowners in Miami Florida overwhelmed with foreclosure notices and short sales presents a way out with also possible money in their pockets.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 24, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sales of newly built, single-family homes declined 7.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 328,000 units in March from an upwardly revised, robust pace of 353,000 units in February, according to newly released figures from HUD and the U.S. Commerce Department.

Washington, D.C. - April 24, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) today called for Congress to pass legislation that includes architecture school graduates in the same programs that offer other graduates loan debt assistance if they donate their services to their communities and elsewhere.

Washington, DC - April 24, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Rebuilding Together, NeighborWorks America and the National Community Stabilization Trust have joined together in a new collaborative effort to support homeownership and sustainable communities across the country through the rehabilitation of vacant Real Estate Owned (REO) properties. Although the nonprofit organizations have previously worked together, this announcement marks a new three-year partnership that will allow the groups to collaborate on new and innovative approaches to transforming vacant and dilapidated properties into safe and decent affordable homes in the communities they serve.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 24, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) will host its Semi-Annual Construction Forecast Conference on Wednesday, April 25, in a two-hour webinar from 2:00-4:00 p.m. featuring three renowned industry experts.

Washington, D.C. - April 23, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- ConsensusDocs® users will be able to work on their standard construction contracts using Microsoft Word® on a PC or Mac as the result of an upgraded new web-based platform released today by the coalition. The new technology allows the more than 4,700 office locations currently using ConsensusDocs to share and collaborate with anyone using Word.

Washington, D.C. - April 23, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Center for Integrated Practice has released the results of the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) Awareness Survey that reveals that 84% of AIA members are aware of its market presence, 40% of members demonstrate understanding of IPD and 13% of members are using IPD methodologies for construction projects (a significant increase over 2010 AIA Firm Survey figures).