Archives

October 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, ranking Republican on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, today made the following statement at a Committee hearing on the 30-year, fixed rate mortgage

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Prometheus Real Estate Group, based in San Mateo, Calif., took top honors as 2011 Property Management Company of the Year in the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Awards competition.

WASHINGTON, DC - October 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Very-low income women who have the opportunity to move from high-poverty neighborhoods into lower poverty areas are significantly less likely to be extremely obese or to have diabetes. Those are among the key findings of a study by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. An article published today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) highlights the positive health findings, which the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development previewed today.

WASHINGTON, DC - October 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced HUD will speed federal disaster assistance to the State of New Jersey and provide support to homeowners and low-income re...

WASHINGTON, DC - October 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today awarded $26.6 million in “sweat equity” grants to produce at least 1,477 affordable homes for low-income individuals and families. Funded through HUD’s Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP), the funding awarded today, along with the labor contributed by these households, will significantly lower the cost of homeownership.

Washington, DC - October 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Existing-home sales were down in September on the heels of a strong gain in August, but remain well above a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- As noted by the Wall Street Journal, MSNBC and other media outlets, the Republican presidential candidates let a great opportunity slip away during Tuesday night’s presidential debate to explain how they would address the nation’s housing problems in order to get the housing market and economy back on track, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

Washington, D.C. - October 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Citigroup’s principal U.S. broker-dealer subsidiary with misleading investors about a $1 billion collateralized debt obligation (CDO) tied to the U.S. housing market in which Citigroup bet against investors as the housing market showed signs of distress. The CDO defaulted within months, leaving investors with losses while Citigroup made $160 million in fees and trading profits.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nationwide housing starts rose 15 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 658,000 units in September, marking the strongest pace of residential construction since April of 2010, according to figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department today. The gain was largely attributed to a sharp increase on the multifamily side, which has been trending upward due to increased demand for rental apartments.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- NAHB Remodelers named Mike Nagel, CGR, CAPS, of Men at Work Chicago, the 2011 Remodeler of the Year in recognition of his professional remodeling achievements and support of industry professionalism. The award was given at the NAHB Remodelers awards gala held last week during the Remodeling Show in Chicago.

GARDINER, ME - October 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Bureau of Financial Institutions’ Superintendent Lloyd P. LaFountain, III has released results from a quarterly survey covering residential mortgage loans held by Maine’s 32 state-chartered bank...

TOPEKA, KS - October 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC) has awarded approximately $1.9 million in Homeowner Rehabilitation (HR) grants to eleven communities to facilitate the renovation, accessibility and weather...

Jackson, MS - October 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Finding ways to stay warm with the arrival of the first cold weather of the year greatly increases the risk for home heating fires. Commissioner of Insurance and State Fire Marshal Mike Chaney urges ...

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - October 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Earlier today in federal court, a Minnesota couple was indicted in connection with a $5 million mortgage fraud scheme. James Warren Hoffman, age 51, and his wife, Teresa Gay Hoffman, age 52, both...

ANCHORAGE, AK - October 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) awarded $1.7 million in additional funding to two non-profit intermediary agencies to administer the HOME Opportunity Program (HOP). HOP provides principal...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage applications decreased 14.9 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending October 14, 2011, which included the Columbus Day holiday.

Washington, D.C. - October 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Following the first positive score in four months, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) reversed direction again in September. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the September ABI score was 46.9, following a score of 51.4 in August. This score reflects a sharp decrease in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 54.3, down from a reading of 56.9 the previous month

Washington, DC - October 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to transition away from current foreclosure attorney network programs and move to a system where mortgage servicers select qualified law firms that meet certain minimum, uniform criteria. Under current practice, in certain states each Enterprise designates law firms eligible under the Enterprise’s criteria to undertake foreclosure work and mortgage servicers then select and work with these firms.

WASHINGTON, DC - October 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today that it is charging a Philadelphia condominium association with violating the Fair Housing Act for refusing to revise its “no...

Washington, D.C. - October 19, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has obtained an emergency court order to freeze the assets of a Texas resident and his company charged with falsely telling investors he was using their money to buy and restructure pools of non-performing home mortgages in the wake of the housing market’s decline.