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DES MOINES, IA - December 23, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds today announced that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has approved the Branstad/Reynolds Administration’s request for a temporary waiver of incom...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 23, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sales of newly built, single-family homes edged up 1.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 315,000 units in November, according to newly released figures by the U.S. Commerce Department. This marks the third consecutive monthly gain in new-home sales and the fastest pace of such activity since April.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 23, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago named Leo Ries Vice Chair of the Affordable Housing Committee for their Board of Directors. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago is a $73 billion wholesale bank serving the needs of member housing finance institutions located in Illinois and Wisconsin. Executive Director of LISC Milwaukee since 1999, Ries has served on the Federal Home Loan Bank's Board of Directors for three years.

Seattle, WA - December 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Federal homeless assistance funds totaling more than $21.8 million have been awarded to the City of Seattle and King County for 2012-2013, making it possible to continue to provide a range of housin...

RICHMOND - December 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Bob McDonnell today asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to approve disaster assistance for nine additional localities recovering from the 5.8 magnitude earthquake on Aug. 23 and the ...

WASHINGTON, DC - December 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced that it has launched the HUD Language Line, a telephone language service pilot that will offer live, one-on-one interpretation services in more than 175 languages. Accessible throughout the nation, the language line will help HUD staff to better communicate with Limited English Proficient (LEP) individuals and families about HUD housing programs, services, and activities.

New Haven, CT - December 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3) applauded the renewal of $4,523,659 in funding for 23 Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance programs in Connecticut’s 3rd District today. The Continuum of Ca...

SACRAMENTO, CA - December 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- California housing production increased for a fourth consecutive month in November but the state is still on track to end the year with the third-lowest housing starts tally on record, the Califo...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev., today issued the following statement on a congressional plan to pay for extending an expiring payroll tax cut by raising fees charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

Washington, DC - December 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. house prices fell 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from September to October, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly House Price Index. The previously reported 0.9 percent increase in September was revised downward to reflect a 0.4 percent increase. For the 12 months ending in October, U.S. prices fell 2.8 percent. The U.S. index is 19.2 percent below its April 2007 peak and roughly the same as the February 2004 index level.

Washington, DC - December 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today reported that the National Average Contract Mortgage Rate...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today’s Department of Justice fair lending settlement with Countrywide Financial is welcome news in a housing market still reeling from the costs of rampant predatory lending. Countrywide was the largest of the rogue mortgage lenders that caused the current crisis. Regulators’ lax lending rules and loose oversight allowed these bad practices to flourish.

Philadelphia, PA - December 21, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Philadelphia Housing Authority has filled two key positions to complete the restaffing of its Office of General Counsel with the hiring of Laurence Redican and Joffie Pittman.

ROCHESTER, NY - December 21, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Attorney Anastasios “Taso” Kolokouris, 28, of Avon, N.Y., has been arrested and charged by Criminal Complaint with violating the Clean Air Act asbestos work practice standards involving a...

San Francisco, CA - December 21, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) --Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced that the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded San Francisco $18.9 million in HUD’s Continuum of Care grants to fund a wide variety of progra...

BOLTON, MS - December 21, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, United States Representative Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) announced The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded FY 2011 Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance awards ...

WASHINGTON, DC - December 21, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded $1.47 billion to renew funding to more than 7,100 local homeless programs operating across the country. The funding announced today will ensure these housing and service programs remain operating in 2012 and are a critical part of the Obama Administration’s strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness.

Des Moines, IA - December 21, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Iowa Finance Authority Board of Directors recently approved a $50,000 grant to Habitat for Humanity of Marion County, Inc. to assist in the construction of an affordable home for a family in ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 21, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The New Haven mayor will join building cleaners rallying for fair wages at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the corner of Church and Elm streets downtown. The rally comes as the December 31st contract expiration date ticks closer for the more than 2,000 building cleaners in New Haven and Hartford represented by 32BJ. Building cleaners began their contract talks with employers in mid-November. But with the two sides still far apart, the building cleaners voted last week to authorize their bargaining committee to call a strike if a fair agreement cannot be reached.

WASHINGTON, DC - December 21, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Urban Land Institute (ULI), a global research and education organization dedicated to responsible land use, celebrated 75 years of leadership in community building last week with a series of events in communities throughout the United States – including meetings with the mayors of Washington D.C. and Philadelphia -- that highlight the institute’s legacy of shaping and enhancing the built environment.