Archives

As part of the Administration’s effort to advance energy efficiency and combat the harmful effects of climate change, Better Buildings Challenge partners have cut energy waste by 94 TBTUs since President Obama first launched the challenge in 2011. The energy savings announced today have saved partners a total of $840 million dollars in energy costs and avoided 6 million tons of harmful carbon emissions, equivalent to cutting the emissions of 1 million cars.

Private U.S. property/casualty insurers’ net income after taxes fell to $55.5 billion in 2014 from $63.4 billion in 2013, with insurers’ overall profitability as measured by their rate of return on average policyholders’ surplus dropping to 8.4 percent from 10.2 percent, according to ISO, a Verisk Analytics (Nasdaq:VRSK) business, and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI)

Since 1972, the Clean Water Act has protected our nation’s streams, wetlands, lakes and rivers. However, Supreme Court decisions have caused confusion over which streams and wetlands are included under those protections. The final Clean Water Rule, proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers, will better protect our waters by stating more clearly which waters are protected under the Clean Water Act. The new rule will continue to honor the law’s exemptions for farming, ranching, and forestry practices.

Mortgage applications decreased 1.6 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 22, 2015.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. On May 12, the House passed the Regulatory Integrity Protection Act (H.R. 1732), which requires EPA to withdraw the rule:

On May 21, Senator Al Franken (D-MN) and Senate Finance Committee member Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced the Housing for Homeless Students Act, S. 1412, which would add a new exemption to the Housing Credit student rule to allow full-time students to qualify to rent a Housing Credit apartment if they were a youth experiencing homelessness at any point within the seven years prior to moving into their Housing Credit apartment (according to the definition of homeless children and youth used in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act) or if they are a veteran and were

One of the major benefits of a home loan from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is being able to buy a new home. However, veterans could take it one step further and build a home to get the property they dreamed of. Whether veterans are returning from overseas or serving in a selected reserve nearby, they could apply for a VA home loan to customize their house the way they want it.

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy released the annual 50-State Property Tax Comparison Study, a comprehensive analysis of effective property tax rates in each state’s largest city, one rural area in each state, and the District of Columbia.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced an agreement with Associated Bank, N.A. (Associated) to resolve a disparate treatment redlining case, one of the largest redlining complaints brought by the federal government against a mortgage lender. At approximately $200 million, it is the largest settlement of this kind HUD has ever reached.

Energy Department is announcing $32 million in funding to help train American workers for the solar energy workforce and to further drive down the cost of solar by developing innovative low-cost concentrating solar power collectors and increasing access to critical solar data.

Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 6.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 517,000 units in April, according to newly released data from HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau.

A stronger labor market and increasing household formation should keep commercial real estate demand on a gradual incline, according to the National Association of Realtors® quarterly commercial real estate forecast.

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) today announced that it will target $1 billion of renewable energy bond arrangements to expand clean energy in Japan

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today released her comments to the U.S. Marine Corps regarding the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the project in the District of Columbia to rebuild the Marine barracks known as Bachelor Enlisted Quarters Building 20, saying it would be “unacceptable for the U.S. Marine Corps to select one of three alternative sites that are privately owned or leased.”

Dave Snyder, vice president, international policy at the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) issued the following statement following the Senate passage of “The Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015,” legislation to renew Trade Promotion Authority (TPA)

There is still time to share your building industry priorities. The National Institute of Building Sciences Consultative Council is seeking input from all members of the building industry as it begins to compile its 2015 report to the President of the United States. All building industry stakeholders—including individuals, corporations, professional groups, trade associations and advocacy groups—are welcome to provide input. To ensure everyone has an opportunity to share comments, the Council has extended the deadline to Friday, June 5.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently published a noticeseeking public comment on proposed revisions to the HUD Addendum to Uniform Residential Loan Application, also known as the 92900-A, the loan certification document signed by lenders. HUD is providing a 60-day comment period on proposed revisions to the form and is requesting all public comments be received by July 14, 2015.

East Providence, Rhode Island; May 22, 2015: A national property rights legal organization has stepped in to represent a small, family-owned pure-bred puppy business whose East Providence store has been shut down by the city’s new ban on pet stores

U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Jay Williams visited Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, today to announce the 12 recipients of the 2014 Science and Research Park Development Grants, part of the Regional Innovation Strategies program.

Complaint Charges That Defendants Acting Through An Organization That Advertised Help To Those Seeking Home Loan Modifications To Avoid Foreclosure, Obtained Millions Of Dollars By Deceiving Homeowners Into Selling Their Homes