News

WASHINGTON, DC - February 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the Obama Administration delivered a report to Congress that provides a path forward for reforming America's housing finance market. The Administration's plan will wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and shrink the government's current footprint in housing finance on a responsible timeline. The plan also lays out reforms to continue fixing the fundamental flaws in the mortgage market through stronger consumer protection, increased transparency for investors, improved underwriting standards, and other critical measures. Additionally, it will help provide targeted and transparent support to creditworthy but underserved families that want to own their own home, as well as affordable rental options.

WASHINGTON, DC - February 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- For the first time ever, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today published the most authoritative analysis of the extent and nature of homelessness among American veterans. According to HUD and VA’s assessment, nearly 76,000 veterans were homeless on a given night in 2009 while roughly 136,000 veterans spent at least one night in a shelter during that year.

WASHINGTON, DC - February 1, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- In a report to Congress released today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) found that “worst case housing needs” grew by nearly 1.2 million households, or more than 20 percent, from 2007 to 2009 and by 42 percent since 2001. “Worst case housing needs” are defined as low-income households who paid more than half their monthly income for rent, lived in severely substandard housing, or both.

WASHINGTON, DC - January 31, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- In an effort to continue stabilizing home values and improve conditions in communities experiencing high foreclosure activity, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner David H. Stevens today extended FHA's temporary waiver of the agency's 'anti-flipping rule.' The extension announced today is intended to accelerate the resale of foreclosed upon homes in neighborhoods struggling to overcome possible property abandonment and blight.

WASHINGTON, DC - January 31, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Yesterday, Thursday, January 27, U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary Scott Gould, and U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness Director Barbara Poppe joined volunteers around the nation as they participated in a national count of homeless persons and families as part of HUD’s national Let’s Make Everybody Count! campaign.WASHINGTON, DC - January 31, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Yesterday, Thursday, January 27, U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary Scott Gould, and U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness Director Barbara Poppe joined volunteers around the nation as they participated in a national count of homeless persons and families as part of HUD’s national Let’s Make Everybody Count! campaign.

WASHINGTON, DC - January 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded $1.41 billion in funding to keep nearly 7,000 local homeless assistance programs operating in the coming year (see attached chart).

WASHINGTON, DC - January 14, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development today awarded nearly $127 million in grants to 48 local projects to conduct a wide range of activities intended to protect children and families from potentially dangerous lead-based paint and other home health and safety hazards (see chart below)

WASHINGTON, DC - January 6, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today a joint partnership between the two agencies to help nearly 1,000 non-elderly Americans with disabilities leave nursing homes or other healthcare facilities to live independently. This is the first time two federal agencies are offering a combination of rental assistance, health care and other supportive services targeted to this population.

WASHINGTON, DC - January 4, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Marin County, California today announced an agreement to promote access and overcome barriers to affordable housing for minorities and persons with disabilities throughout the County. A recent HUD review disclosed that Marin County had failed to meet its Fair Housing obligations in its use and expenditure of HUD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME funds.

WASHINGTON, DC - December 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced that more than 3,800 children are safe from dangerous lead-based paint hazards and other health and safety risks due to grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and HUD’s Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control.

WASHINGTON, DC - December 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- In an effort to help families find decent housing and to prevent future foreclosures, the Obama Administration today announced nearly $73 million in housing counseling grants to more than 500 national, regional and local organizations. As a result of the funding announced today, hundreds of thousands of households will have a greater opportunity to find housing or keep the homes they have because of the housing counseling and counseling training grants awarded today by U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan.

WASHINGTON, DC - December 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the December edition of the Obama Administration's Housing Scorecard. The latest housing figures show continued home affordability in the housing market, with interest rates near record lows, but the market remains fragile, as prices are unsettled. Foreclosure starts and completions dropped significantly in November, as lenders review internal servicing procedures. The housing scorecard is a comprehensive report on the nation's housing market.

WASHINGTON, DC - December 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council (EHOC), and First National Bank of St. Louis today announced an agreement that will increase the bank's commitment to minority and low-income communities.? As part of the agreement, the bank will invest more than $2.5 million over four years in St. Louis City, North St. Louis County, and St. Clair County, Illinois.

WASHINGTON, DC - December 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Housing Administration’s Mortgagee Review Board (MRB) today announced that it is permanently withdrawing FHA approval of Cambridge Home Capital, LLC (CHC), a Great Neck, New York-based lender. In addition, the MRB will seek a monetary penalty of $182,000.

WASHINGTON, DC - December 9, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today that it is launching multiple investigations into the practices of certain mortgage lenders to determine if their home loan policies illegally deny qualified African American and Latino borrowers access to credit.

WASHINGTON, DC - December 7, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA) will reinstate a Native American family’s rental assistance under a voluntary agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that settles allegations that?SFHA employees said they did not work with Indian tribes and refused to accept the family’s tribal documents.

WASHINGTON, DC - December 3, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- All across the country, there are environmentally challenged areas called ‘brownfields,’ contaminated properties that often require substantial cleanup before they can be reused for another purposes. In the latest issue of Cityscape, an independent journal published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, several scholars are calling for new policies and approaches that could significantly accelerate stalled brownfield redevelopment.

CINCINNATI, OH - December 3, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced two settlements against landlords for failing to inform tenants that their homes may contain potentially dangerous lead. The agreements require the landlords to replace windows and cleanup lead-based paint hazards in 31 residential properties containing a total of 294 units (see attached list). In addition to the $480,000 worth of lead abatement work being performed, the landlords also agree to pay civil penalties totalling $12,500.

WASHINGTON, DC - December 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced today that homelessness for 750,000 Americans was prevented or ended, thanks to HUD’s Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program (HPRP), funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The program provided $1.5 billion to local communities to keep families in their homes or help them find other affordable housing after a sudden financial crisis, which might have otherwise led to homelessness.

WASHINGTON, DC - December 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced that $25 million in grants is available to help rural and tribal communities struggling to address distressed housing conditions and concentrated poverty. In a speech to the Housing Assistance Council in Washington, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said HUD’s new