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Washington, DC - December 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo welcomed more than 28,000 attendees this past November at its show in Chicago, Ill. Attendees representing various backgrounds, professions and 114 countries filled the exhibit hall floor, educational and speaker sessions, green building tours and networking events that made up the three day long show. The nearly 200,000 square foot expo hall floor featured over 1,800 exhibit booths representing over 1,000 exhibiting companies. Greenbuild is the industry’s largest gathering of representatives from all sectors of the green building movement

WASHINGTON, DC - December 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A homeless-prevention program by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which seeks to help Veterans and families who are on the verge of becoming homeless, has moved closer to implementation. The program marks the first time that VA will fund services for the spouses and children of Veterans at risk of becoming homeless.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A combination of business strategy, philanthropy and unwavering commitment to each multifamily development earned the Michaels Development Company top honors as Multifamily Development Firm of the Year. The award was presented by the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) as part of the association's Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Awards last week

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nationwide housing starts rose 3.9 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 555,000 units from an upwardly revised number in the previous month, according to newly released data from the U.S. Commerce Department. This marked the first upward movement in new-home production since August, and was entirely attributable to a nearly 7 percent gain in single-family home building.

Washington, DC - December 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- As part of the 2010-11Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report, REALTORS® recently rated exterior replacement projects among the most cost-effective home improvement projects, demonstrating that curb appeal remains one of the most important aspects of a home at resale time.

Boston, MA - December 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. multi-housing vacancy rate is expected to remain relatively stable through 2011, ending the year at 5.8%, before falling further to 5.3% during the course of 2012, according to a new forecast from CBRE Econometric Advisors (CBRE-EA). Multi-family property demand will remain solid, continuing a trend that began when the vacancy rate peaked at 7.4% at the end of 2009.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending December 10, 2010. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 2.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 2.7 percent compared with the previous week.

December 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- "ABA, along with other financial trade associations, filed an amicus brief yesterday in opposition to applying overtime regulations to most bank employees who originate residential mortgages. The amicus was filed in the case of Henry vs. Quicken Loans in the United States District Court of Eastern Michigan. "The amicus brief argues that the new Administrator's Interpretation marked a sudden and dramatic shift in the Dept. of Labor's position that is inconsistent with the regulations that it seeks to interpret, and that the sudden and dramatic reversal of course results in an unfair surprise to employers who have reasonably relied on the Dept. of Labor's prior interpretations.

WASHINGTON, DC - December 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Business Solutions, a subsidiary of the American Bankers Association, has entered into an exclusive two-year arrangement with U.S. Bank Home Mortgage that will provide member banks with a competitively-priced outlet for the sale of wholesale loans

December 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes remained unchanged in December from the previous month at 16 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released today."Builders are bracing themselves for a slow holiday season as a number of factors continue to cause uncertainty among consumers and builders alike," said NAHB Chairman Bob Jones, a home builder from Bloomfield Hills, Mich. "While the HMI is adjusted for seasonal factors, the typical cold-weather slowdown in sales activity is being accentuated by ongoing weakness in the job market, the rising number of foreclosures and short-sales, and very challenging credit conditions for both builders and buyers."

VIENNA, VA - December 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today released two mortgage fraud reports entitled Mortgage Loan Fraud SAR Filings, which together cover the first six months of 2010; one report covers January through March 2010, and the other covers April through June 2010.

December 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- NRMLA, last week, published independent research showing high levels of satisfaction among seniors with reverse mortgages and equally positive numbers indicating borrowers understood the transaction they were getting into and felt no pressure getting a loan.

Washington, D.C. - December 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The American Institute of Architects (AIA) today announced it was sponsoring a Haiti reconstruction conference in early January that will bring together a host of organizations to identify and coordinate opportunities in Haiti for design assistance teams, building assessments, resources and other programs.The AIA Summit on Haiti will be held on January 13 – one day after the first anniversary of the Haitian earthquake of 2010 – at the Loew’s Hotel in New Orleans. Organizations participating in the AIA’s Haiti conference include The American Red Cross, National Urban League - Greater New Orleans, Adecco Group North America, United States Green Building Council (USGBC), Architecture for Humanity (AFH), National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), Public Architecture and Black Design Network News. More organizations are expected to attend.

Washington, DC - December 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The level of commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding decreased in the third quarter, to $3.2 trillion, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) analysis of the Federal Reserve Board Flow of Funds data.

WASHINGTON, DC - December 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Independent mortgage banks and subsidiaries made an average profit of $1,423 on each loan they originated in the third quarter of 2010, up from $917 per loan in the second quarter of 2010, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s 3rd Quarter 2010 Mortgage Bankers Performance Report released today.

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, D.C. - December 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Congressional Oversight Panel today released its December oversight report, "A Review of Treasury's Foreclosure Prevention Programs." In the eight months since the Panel's last report on the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), Treasury has made minor tweaks to the program, but the changes have not resolved the Panel's core concerns. The Panel now estimates that, if current trends hold, HAMP will prevent only 700,000 foreclosures -- far fewer than the three to four million foreclosures that Treasury initially aimed to stop, and vastly fewer than the eight to 13 million foreclosures expected by 2012

PITTSBURG, KS - December 13, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Officials from the City of Pittsburg, the Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce, Kansas Housing Resources Corporation and Garrison Development Company celebrated the completion of Besse Apartments at 121 E. 4th Street in Pittsburg. A $9.2 million dollar historic rehab, the 83-year-old former hotel now offers 46 affordable apartments in the heart of downtown

WASHINGTON, DC - December 13, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Jose Portillo, 22, was convicted by a jury today of first degree felony murder and other charges in the November 2008 slayings of Virginia and Michael Spevak, who were attacked while in their Northwest Washington home, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department announced.

New York, NY - December 13, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The New York Housing Conference (NYHC) and the National Housing Conference (NHC) hosted the 37th Annual Awards Luncheon, one of the largest gatherings of housing professionals in the nation, today, Thursday, December 9, 2010, at the Hilton New York in Manhattan.