Archives

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Trade Commission staff has submitted comments to the Federal Reserve Board recommending ways the Board could strengthen the rules under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, which requires some mortgage lenders to collect and report loan data that the government uses to analyze whether they are complying with fair lending laws

WASHINGTON, DC - December 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today was elected by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness to lead federal efforts to end homelessness. As chair of USICH, Secretary Solis joins the newly elected vice chair, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, in implementing Opening Doors, the first federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness. Solis succeeds Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, who has been chair since 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A press conference on green product trends featuring speakers from Green Day sponsors BASF, Kohler, Marvin Windows & Doors and The Council for Responsible EnergyA press conference on new-home energy-efficiency breakthroughs from builders participating in the Department of Energy's Builders Challenge and the National Green Building Certification programA Meet and Greet with members of the 20 university teams from around the world chosen to participate in the 2011 Solar Decathlon. See scale models of the designs and talk to the winning students as well as a select group of green builders and remodelers who can talk about real-world application of these cutting-edge technologies

TOPEKA, KS - December 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Do you have great ideas for dynamic speakers and presentations at next year's Kansas Housing Conference August 9-11 in Wichita? If so, we want to hear from you! The Conference Steering Committee is now seeking session suggestions that offer:

December 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Huge jumps in prices for diesel fuel and copper—two key inputs to construction—pinched contractors in November as weak demand for construction forced them to hold down bid prices despite the cost increases, according to an analysis of November producer price index figures released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Prices for materials used in construction climbed 0.5 percent in November and 4.8 percent over the past 12 months, while price indexes for finished buildings remained flat over both time periods. The PPI for finished goods went up 0.4 percent for the month and 3.5 percent year-over-year.

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.