Housing & Development

WASHINGTON, DC - March 2, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today is awarding $7.8 million in grants to 14 local projects in nine states to conduct a wide range of activities such as research on the cost effectiveness of home-based interventions for children with asthma and novel strategies for reducing risks from lead-contaminated soil and house dust (see attached). For the first time, HUD is awarding $2 million of those grants to improve indoor environmental conditions and links to education and medical services for asthmatic children and other residents living in public and assisted multifamily housing

WASHINGTON, DC - March 2, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- More than 250 communities across the country will be able to increase the economic impact of their local community development and affordable housing programs through nearly $50 million in “capacity-building” grants awarded today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The funds awarded today will support three national organizations and are ultimately expected to produce approximately 8,000 units of affordable housing nationwide, and generate more than $1 billion in total development investment.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 2, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Multifamily home owners and developers, property managers, architects, interior designers and multifamily industry professionals are invited to enter the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) 2011 Pillars of the Industry Awards competition.The Pillars Awards highlight excellence in apartment and condominium design and development, innovative financing strategies, and superior property management and marketing. Since its inception in 1990, the Pillars Awards program has earned its reputation as the most prestigious awards program of its kind

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - March 1, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Due to federal budget cuts to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Home Energy Assistance Target (HEAT) applicants will receive lower average payments beginning March 2, 2011.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 1, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- In the wake of in the House of Representatives’ passage last week of H.R. 1, the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011, housing and community development advocates continue their push for funding for communities with a letter to Senate leadership.

WASHINGTON, DC - March 1, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today awarded $40.8 million to 108 fair housing organizations and non-profit agencies in 36 states and the District of Columbia to educate the public and combat housing and lending discrimination (see attached list of grantees). This year’s award represents a $13.2 million increase over last year’s award and includes $10 million to fund activities that address lending discrimination, including mortgage rescue scams

WASHINGTON, DC - March 1, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced a commitment to insure a mortgage loan to Parkview Community Hospital Medical Center in Riverside, California. The $29 million loan is made possible through the Section 223(f) component of the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Section 242 Hospital Mortgage Insurance Program.

Upper Marlboro, MD - March 1, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Michelle Desiderio, director of green building programs at the NAHB Research Center, will join a distinguished line-up of industry experts in Orlando, Fla., to present a session at this year's RESNET Building Performance Conference, the premier national forum on home energy ratings, residential energy efficiency financing, and building performance business development.

BEDFORD, N.H. - February 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority recently named its “Top 10” participating lenders for 2010. Together, these lenders closed 81% of the loans extended to low- and moderate-income first-t...

WASHINGTON, DC - February 28, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Fannie Mae's latest national housing survey finds that Americans are more confident about the stability of home prices than they were at the beginning of 2010, even though they lack confidence in the strength of the economy:

WASHINGTON, DC - February 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently issued guidance making it clear that residents who are denied or evicted from housing as a result of domestic violence may have basis to file a discrimination complaint with HUD under the federal Fair Housing Act. HUD's guidance states that while the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) provides some protections to victims of abuse who experience housing discrimination, the Fair Housing Act provides authority for HUD to investigate whether the denial or eviction violates the Act based on gender or another federally-protected basis

COLUMBIA, MD - February 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. (Enterprise), a national leader in community development and affordable housing, today secured $62 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund). Enterprise is one of 99 Community Development Entities receiving an allocation of the $3.5 billion in NMTC awarded as part of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Authorization and Job Creation Act of 2010. This new allocation brings Enterprise’s total NMTC awards to $672 million, $595.5 million of which has previously been invested in low-income communities nationwide, making it one of the largest allocatees of NMTCs in the country

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - February 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- … Crescent Resources, LLC hired Charlotte real estate attorney Nina Shor to serve as general counsel and create the company’s in-house legal department. Shor brings more than 25 years of experience to the new post

SPRING VALLEY, NY - February 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Continuing a comprehensive urban renewal plan to revitalize downtown Spring Valley, Village, County, Town and State officials today joined with representatives of CPC Resources, Inc. and Rockland Housing Action Coalition to celebrate the groundbreaking of a multi-use development featuring affordable housing and commercial space in downtown Spring Valley.

February 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- USAA Real Estate Company is pleased to announce that the Federal Bureau of Investigation Regional Facility located in Chicago, Illinois recently has been awarded The Outstanding Building of the Year Award (TOBY) in the highly competitive Chicago market.

Washington, D.C. - February 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Scott Brown (R-MA), Mark Begich (D-AK), James Inhofe (R-OK), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Robert Casey (D-PA), and John Cornyn (R-TX) have introduced bipartisan leg...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sales of newly built, single-family homes declined 12.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted, annual rate of 284,000 units in January, according to newly released figures from the U.S. Commerce Department. The decline largely offsets a big gain in sales activity that was recorded in the previous month due partly to an expiring tax break in California."While poor weather conditions likely played a part in keeping potential buyers on the sidelines this January, we do expect consumer demand to improve somewhat along with job-market gains heading into the spring buying season," noted Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev.

Washington, DC - February 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) --Although home values have continued to fall over the past few years, housing affordability has significantly decreased for working owners and renters, according to an annual report released by the Center for Housing Policy, the research affiliate of the National Housing Conference. The report, titled Housing Landscape 2011, provides an in-depth look at housing affordability trends for working households between 2008 and 2009 focusing on the effects of employment, income and housing costs

WASHINGTON, DC - February 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. house prices fell in the fourth quarter of 2010 according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) seasonally adjusted purchase-only house price index (HPI). The HPI, calculated using home sales price information from Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-acquired mortgages, was 0.8 percent lower on a seasonally adjusted basis in the fourth quarter than in the third quarter of 2010. The unadjusted national decline was 2.2 percent. Over the past year, seasonally adjusted prices fell 3.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2009 to the fourth quarter of 2010

Washington, D.C. - February 23, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The NAIOP Research Foundation has made individual state reports available that detail the state's data for commercial construction spending, employment and personal earnings in a 2009 vs. 2007 comparison.