Sales of new single-family houses in August 2016 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 609,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau. This is 7.6 percent (±10.7%)* below the revised July rate of 659,000, but is 20.6 percent (±14.8%) above the August 2015 estimate of 505,000

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is hosting a call on Sept. 28, 2016, with Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Bob McDonald, HUD Secretary Julian Castro, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and other federal partners to discuss how Mayors can work to end veteran homelessness in tight rental markets

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced it is providing Baton Rouge and Lafayette, Louisiana with an early infusion of $13 million in disaster assistance in the wake of last month’s devastating flooding. The announcement was made by HUD Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Harriet Tregoning following a meeting with members of Governor John Bel Edward’s Restore Louisiana Task Force.

In 2012, Congress authorized the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) to test a new way of meeting the large and growing capital improvement needs of the nation’s aging public housing stock. New research released today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), conducted by Econometrica Inc., examines how RAD is performing and provides evidence that the program is on track to accomplish its primary goal of attracting substantial new capital to stabilize the physical and financial conditions of public housing properties significantly improving housing conditions for low-income residents.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Census Bureau jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for August 2016: Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,139,000. This is 0.4 percent (±1.2%) below the revised July rate of 1,144,000, but is 2.3 percent (±1.5%) below the August 2015 estimate of 1,166,000.  Single-family authorizations in August were at a rate of 737,000; this is 3.7 percent (±3.0%) below the revised July figure of 711,000.  Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 370,000 in August

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today published a final rule to ensure that all individuals have equal access to many of the Department’s core shelter programs in accordance with their gender identity. Read HUD’s new ‘Gender Identity Rule’.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro named Jon Gresley to serve as HUD’s Regional Administrator in Region 9, which includes the western states of Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and the U.S. territories in the Outer Pacific.

The average amount of potentially harmful lead in the blood of children in low-income families living in federally assisted housing is significantly lower than comparable children not living in federally assisted housing. That’s the principle conclusion of a study by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published today in the American Journal of Public Health

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today issued “Limited English Proficiency” (LEP) guidance that addresses how the Fair Housing Act would apply to claims of housing discrimination brought by people because they do not speak, read, or write English proficiently.  More than 25 million people in the United States do not communicate proficiently in English.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today that it is publishing a final rule formalizing legal standards under the Fair Housing Act for sexual and other forms of harassment in housing. In addition, HUD is issuing Fair Housing Act guidance on local ‘nuisance ordinances’ that may lead to housing discrimination against survivors of domestic violence and other persons in need of emergency services.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro announced that AT&T is now a national stakeholder in HUD’s ConnectHome Initiative, a public-private effort designed to help connect low-income families living in HUD-assisted housing to low-cost internet service.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it is charging a group of landlords in the Pittsburgh area with discriminating against prospective residents who have disabilities. HUD claims the owners and property managers of Beechwood Gardens in Pittsburgh and Southpointe Towers in West Mifflin denied housing to testers posing as prospective renters by refusing to grant them reasonable accommodations.

In an effort to immediately help young children with elevated blood lead levels living in federally assisted housing, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is proposing to lower the Department’s threshold of lead in the child’s blood to match the one used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). HUD’s proposed new reference level for lead in a young child’s blood would be lowered from 20 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood (µg/dL) to five, and continue to be aligned with CDC recommendations in the future. Read HUD’s proposed rule.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today that owners of privately owned apartment buildings under Section 8 contract can now offer Family Self-Sufficiency programs to the more than one million households living in their properties. HUD will now allow owners of multifamily properties to use funding from residual receipt accounts to hire service coordinators for their own Family Self-Sufficiency program.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) today announced new procedures to strengthen the process mortgage servicers use to help struggling families avoid foreclosure and remain in their homes. FHA is streamlining its loss mitigation protocols that servicers must use when evaluating and deploying ‘home retention options,’ foreclosure alternatives that allow delinquent borrowers to retain their home.

Sales of new single-family houses in July 2016 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 654,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau. This is 12.4 percent (±12.7%)* above the revised June rate of 582,000 and is 31.3 percent (±19.9%)* above the July 2015 estimate of 498,000

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today an agreement with Delvista Towers Condominium Association, Inc., of Aventura, Florida, and its property management company, resolving allegations of housing discrimination against residents with disabilities. HUD claimed the condo association and its property managers denied the reasonable accommodation requests of residents with disabilities who needed assistance animals. Read the Conciliation Agreement.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced a second round of funding to help provide permanent homes to an estimated 108 veterans experiencing homelessness in seven states. The rental assistance announced today is provided through the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program which combines rental assistance from HUD with case management and clinical services provided by VA (see attached list of HUD’s voucher awards).

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Census Bureau jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for July 2016

Statement from MBA President & CEO David H. Stevens on the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau’s (CFPB) proposed updates to the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure “Know Before You Owe” rule