Public

Rising home prices offset a quarter-point drop in mortgage interest rates to move housing affordability slightly lower in the second quarter of 2017, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) released today

Granger MacDonald, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Kerrville, Texas, today issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s new report on the number of rent-burdened families rising to the second-highest level on record

As Congress grapples with the future of healthcare, politicians, advocates, and others would do well to take a page from a recent report published by Mercy Housing and the Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF), titled “Innovative Models In Health and Housing.”

The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International elected six Executive Committee members at the 2017 BOMA International Conference & Expo  in Nashville, Tennessee, in late June.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Builder Applications Survey (BAS) data for July 2017 shows mortgage applications for new home purchases increased 5.1 percent compared to July 2016. Compared to June 2017, applications decreased by 12 percent. This change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns.

Mortgage applications increased 3.0 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 4, 2017

National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) President Grant S. Whitaker testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance during an August 1 hearing on “America’s Affordable Housing Crisis: Challenges and Solutions.” Whitaker addressed the nation’s critical need for affordable housing and the roles the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit) and tax-exempt private activity Housing Bonds (Housing Bonds) play in responding to that need.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published on August 9 its Worst Case Housing Needs: 2017 Report to Congress, showing that 8.3 million unassisted very low income households in America spend more than half of their income on their housing, live in severely substandard housing, or both. The number of households experiencing this “worst case housing” has increased by 41% since 2007 and by 66% since 2001. We are experiencing an affordable housing crisis of unprecedented proportions.

Wind energy costs are lower than ever, with steady advances in technology and better wind turbine performance, according to three new reports released by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). New DOE reports include the “2016 Wind Technologies Market Report,” the “2016 Offshore Wind Technologies Market Report,” and the “2016 Distributed Wind Market Report.”

The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International honored four of its members with the Regional Member of the Year Award during the 2017 BOMA International Conference & Expo in Nashville, Tennessee, in late June. Regional Member of the Year Awards are given annually to BOMA members who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment and contribution to both the association and the commercial real estate industry.

An Aug. 16 symposium in downtown Philadelphia will explore how knowledge and skills alone won't improve a person's financial situation; policies, programs and financial products are necessary to promote prosperity for more individuals and families.

Suniva and SolarWorld have failed to show that a rising level of imports caused them serious injury and left them unable to compete in the U.S. market, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and others stated in pre-hearing written arguments to the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC).  If the ITC agrees with SEIA’s arguments, such a failure would result in an ITC finding of no injury, ending the case.

This new book is a valuable resource for those who want to keep up and stay ahead of the newest ideas and trends in commercial real estate, Appraisal Institute President Jim Amorin, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS, wrote in the books foreword

David H. Stevens, CMB, President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), released the following statement on the bipartisan introduction of the SAFE Transitional License Act in the U.S. Senate. The bill (S. 1753) was introduced and originally co-sponsored last week by Senators Dean Heller (R-NV) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ). Substantially similar bipartisan legislation (H.R. 2948) was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in late June, and originally cosponsored at that time by Reps. Steve Stivers (R-OH), Bruce Poliquin (R-ME), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), respectively.

The Alliance to Save Energy released the following statement from President Kateri Callahan lauding the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) for adopting a resolution Monday urging the U.S. Congress to fully fund the Department of Energy’s (DOE) appliance and equipment standards program. The resolution also seeks to ensure that the Department meets its statutory obligations to update energy efficiency standards regularly and to enforce manufacturer compliance with such standards

In a further sign that the housing sector is continuing to gain momentum, nearly 300 markets nationwide posted an increase in economic and housing activity from the first quarter to the second quarter, according to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Leading Markets Index (LMI) released today

Members of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Building Systems Councils are celebrating Building Systems Week from Aug. 7 - 11 This week-long event aims to educate NAHB members and consumers on the advantages of systems-built homes as opposed to traditional stick building.

Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the national trade association for the U.S. solar energy industry, announced today the addition of three companies to its board of directors.

Builder confidence in the single-family 55+ housing market strengthened in the second quarter of 2017 with a reading of 66, up 11 points from the previous quarter, according to the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) 55+ Housing Market Index (HMI) released today. This is the 13th consecutive quarter with a reading above 50, which means that more builders view conditions as good than poor

Mortgage credit availability increased slightly in July according to the Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) which analyzes data from Ellie Mae's AllRegs® Market Clarity® business information tool.