L?HU„E, HI - March 31, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- In recognition of April being Fair Housing Month, the Housing Agency is offering a free training session for housing providers on Friday, April 15.

WASHINGTON, DC - March 31, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Six federal agencies are seeking comment on a proposed rule that would require sponsors of asset-backed securities (ABS) to retain at least 5 percent of the credit risk of the assets underlying the securities and would not permit sponsors to transfer or hedge that credit risk. In crafting the proposed rule, the agencies sought to ensure that the amount of credit risk retained is meaningful, while reducing the potential for the rule to negatively affect the availability and cost of credit to consumers and businesses

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 31, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- As Congress and the Administration debate potential reforms of the housing finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today called on Congress to develop a workable housing finance system before it moves forward with policies that would further destabilize the struggling housing market."A finance system that provides liquidity for the housing sector in all geographic markets throughout the economic cycle is a prerequisite to achieving housing policy objectives," NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen, a home builder from Reno, Nev., told members of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises.

Washington, D.C. - March 31, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The American Institute of Architects (AIA) today reacted to President Obama’s proposals for increasing the nation’s energy security by reiterating its top five energy conservation legislative priorities.

MADISON, WI - March 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen today filed a lawsuit against First American Funding Company, LLC of N4365 State Highway 73, Columbus, WI for violations of the state's No-Call and Direct Marketing laws. Michael S. Eisenga is listed in the complaint as the mortgage company's owner and operator

WASHINGTON, DC - March 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- How will the United States work to solve homelessness? The latest issue of Cityscape, a quarterly magazine published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, examines homelessness and the organizations that are working to assist America’s homeless population

Small business owners with eligible commercial real estate mortgages maturing after Dec. 31, 2012, will be able to secure more stable, long-term financing through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s temporary 504 refinancing program as a result of a change that will be published in The Federal Register by April 6.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage applications decreased 7.5 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 25, 2011.

HUNTINGTON STATION, N.Y. - March 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., has orchestrated the trade of Turnpike Plaza shopping center in Huntington Station. Kimco Realty Corporation purchased the 53,000-square-foot, grocery-anchored asset from Centro Properties Group for $7.9 million.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- John A. Courson, President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), issued the below statement following today's release of the risk retention proposed rule.

AUSTIN, TX - March 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- While the overall residential real estate market is still down, sales of vacation homes fared better than sales of primary residences and investment properties in 2010. In fact, some consumers found low real estate prices, attractive mortgage rates and the potential for price appreciation compelling enough reasons to buy more than half a million vacation homes last year, according to proprietary research commissioned by HomeAway, Inc. as part of the National Association of Realtor’s (NAR) 2011 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey.

WASHINGTON, DC - March 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- House Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) issued the following statement today after the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 839 to eliminate the failed Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which is funded by $30 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) money.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) today welcomed members of Maine’s Housing Authorities to Washington to discuss their concerns and priorities regarding affordable housing opportunities through...

VIENNA, VA - March 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today released its analysis of suspicious activity reports (SARs) that call attention to possible fraud in the commercial real estate financing arena. The analysis, Commercial Real Estate Financing Fraud Suspicious Activity Reports by Depository Institutions, found that reported incidences of suspicious activity in commercial real estate financing as reported by depository institutions filing SARs almost tripled between 2007 and 2010, the period which FinCEN examined.

Sioux City, IA - March 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The City of Sioux City, Neighborhood Services Division has partnered with Inspection Services Division to develop a new program. “We have formed a unique partnership to help low-income elderly, and disabled homeowners with critical emergency repairs that have reduced life, health and safety hazards and improved homeowners’ quality of life” says Darlynn McMullen.

Washington, DC - March 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The market share of vacation- and investment-home sales1 held steady in 2010, although the sales volume declined with the overall market, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Washington, DC - March 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- High down payment requirements being proposed by federal regulatory agencies as part of the upcoming rulemaking under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act will unnecessarily burden homebuyers and significantly impede the economic and housing recovery, according to the National Association of Realtors®

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A plan unveiled today by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. that would require a minimum 20 percent down payment for "qualified residential mortgages" would disrupt the housing market and jeopardize the economic recovery, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

EUGENE, OR - March 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Colorado Springs, Colorado real estate professional Angela Byrne has revolutionized her website with the dynamic IDX Broker software. She now hosts thousands of property listings directly on her website...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev., today issued the following statement on legislative proposals by Congressional leaders to effectively eliminate the role of the GSEs in the U.S. mortgage market:“The National Association of Home Builders strongly supports efforts to modernize the nation’s housing finance system, including reforms to the government sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. We can’t go back to the system that existed before the Great Recession, but it is critical that any reforms be well-conceived, orderly and phased in over time.