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HUD ISSUES INTERIM FAIR HOUSING GUIDANCE PENDING ISSUANCE OF FINAL FAIR HOUSING ASSESSMENT TOOLS
On January 24, HUD published interim guidance on how states should comply with the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule until HUD finalizes the state Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) Tool. HUD also provided an update on its efforts to finalize the state Assessment Tool and the other assessment tools it is developing for other HUD program participants.
Agreement Protects San Diego’s Vanishing Burrowing Owls, Increases Solar Energy
An agreement announced today between conservation and environmental-justice groups and private developers will protect imperiled burrowing owls, increase renewable solar energy and conserve wildlife habitat to offset impacts from the redevelopment of San Diego’s Brown Field Municipal Airport. The airport — located near the Mexico border in Otay Mesa — will be redeveloped with new commercial and aviation facilities and include on-site solar energy to reduce energy consumption.
Webinar: Opioid Use Disorders and Homelessness
The opioid epidemic in the United States has had a profound and deadly impact. Opioid use disorders are particularly hard on veterans who are homeless or at risk for being homeless, where prevalence of mental health conditions and substance misuse is high and access to health care often problematic.
NeighborWorks’ network investment in affordable rental housing surges nearly 20 percent in 2016 to...
With the supply of affordable rental housing declining throughout the U.S., NeighborWorks America reported today that its network of local non-profit builders invested more than $2.38 billion into the development and preservation of rental housing. The affordable housing investment was made through construction, rehabilitation, refinance, and purchase of existing apartments, often specifically to support the needs of low- and moderate-income households, seniors, formerly homeless veterans and disabled individuals.
The Rockefeller Foundation Grants $4.6M to Bay Area Leaders to Tackle Climate Change through...
The Rockefeller Foundation announced a $4.6M grant to a coalition of Bay Area leaders to create the Bay Area: Resilient by Design Challenge – a competition that will engage regional innovators, policy makers, designers, architects, developers, and others in developing creative, realistic and long-lasting infrastructure solutions for the San Francisco Bay Area.
10 Housing Policies to Watch Under President Trump
From NYCHA’s $17 billion repair backlog to the deficit of rental assistance in a city with soaring housing costs, New Yorkers have long suffered from the federal government’s reduced spending on housing, which remains far below pre-Reagan era levels. In the country as a whole, the unmet needs are momentous, with only one fourth of eligible low-income households receiving the rental assistance they need to afford a home.
On First Day in Office, Trump Makes it More Expensive for Americans to Buy...
After being sworn into office today, the administration of President Donald Trump moved to raise Federal Housing Administration, or FHA, premiums for new homebuyers by 25 basis points. This action, which reverses an Obama administration move to lower premiums by 25 basis points, will cost a new homebuyer an additional $500 on their housing payments in 2017. The lower premium rate, the FHA estimated, could have made homeownership affordable for an additional 250,000 first-time homebuyers in the next three years
NCRC Statement on Trump Administration Raising FHA Mortgage Premiums
Today, in reaction to the Trump Administration's action to raise Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage premiums, NCRC President and CEO John Taylor made the following statement
MBA Statement on the Suspension of the MIP Reduction
David H. Stevens, President & CEO Mortgage Bankers Association, released the following statement regarding the Trump Administration's decision to suspend the recent reduction of the FHA mortgage insurance premium
Magellan Pipeline Settles Alleged Clean Water Act Violations Related to Spills in Texas, Nebraska...
The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement with Magellan Pipeline Company, L.P., for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act related to gasoline, diesel and jet fuel spills in Texas City, Texas, Nemaha, Neb. and El Dorado, Kan. Magellan has agreed to complete approximately $16 million of injunctive relief across its 11,000-mile pipeline system and pay a $2 million civil penalty.
Statement On Gov. Rick Perry’s Confirmation Hearing For Secretary Of Energy
The Alliance to Save Energy released the following statement from President Kateri Callahan on Gov. Rick Perry’s confirmation hearing for U.S. Secretary of Energy before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
January 27 BSSC Seminar Will Look at Reinforced Concrete Structures
The first webinar in a new 2017 series hosted by the National Institute of Building Sciences Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) and sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will focus on the seismic design of reinforced concrete structures using the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) 2015 NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions for Buildings and Other Structures and its primary reference standards: ASCE/SEI 7-10: Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures and ACI 318-14: Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete.
SBIC Recognizes 2016 Beyond Green™ Award Winners
The National Institute of Building Sciences Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC) recognized the 2016 Beyond Green™ High-Performance Building and Community Awards winners on Thursday, January 12, 2017, at the Beyond Green™ Awards Luncheon, sponsored by Tally® and held during Building Innovation 2017: The National Institute of Building Sciences Fifth Annual Conference and Expo in Washington, D.C.
Remodeling Market Optimism Remains Positive in Fourth Quarter
The National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI) posted a reading of 53 in the fourth quarter of 2016, a decrease of four points from the previous quarter, but on par with levels seen in the first half of 2016. Remodeler confidence has held firm in positive territory for 15 straight quarters.
Nationwide Housing Production Up 11.3 Percent in December on Multifamily Surge
A surge in multifamily production resulted in overall nationwide housing starts rising 11.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.23 million units, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. Single-family starts dropped 4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 795,000 units
Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
Mortgage applications increased 0.8 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 13, 2017. The previous week's results included an adjustment for the New Year's holiday.
A New Podcast Launched by ULI
The Urban Land Institute (ULI) has launched a new podcast series, Leading Voices with ULI, which offers personal leadership stories from some of the most innovative professionals in the real estate and land use industries.
GROUPS TO DEFEND WILDLIFE AND CLEAN WATER AGAINST COAL INDUSTRY ATTACK
Today, a coalition of local and national community and conservation groups filed a motion to participate in two lawsuits that seek to undermine the Stream Protection Rule. The rule, an update to the standards intended to protect clean water and other natural resources threatened by surface coal mining operations across the nation, was issued December 19, 2016, by the Department of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, after almost a decade of work
Builder Confidence Holds Firm in January
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes remained on firm ground in January, down two points to a level of 67 from a downwardly revised December reading of 69 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI)
Statement from NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald on the Supreme Court’s Decision to Hear WOTUS...
NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald, a builder and developer from Kerrville, Texas, issued the following statement on the Supreme Court's decision to take up the dispute over which lower courts can hear challenges to EPA's rule defining "waters of the U.S." in the Clean Water Act
