Public

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced the promotion of David Upbin to the position of Associate Vice President of Education Operations and Programming, and MBA Strategy. The promotion was effective July 1, 2016.

Mortgage applications decreased 1.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 15, 2016. The prior week's results included an adjustment for the July 4th holiday

Pete Mills, Senior Vice President of Residential Policy and Member Engagement for the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) issued the following statement regarding FHA's guidance on the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program.

The second edition of AISC’s Design Guide 11: Floor Vibrations Due To Human Activity is now available. The updated guide expands on the original version with new material on the response of structural systems that support human activity including floors, monumental stairs and balconies. It includes modifications to tolerance limits, updated methods for evaluating high frequency systems and problem floors, as well as refinements to the use of the finite element method to analyze load actions caused by human activity.

Habitat for Humanity received a $4.65 million AmeriCorps grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service to support 350 AmeriCorps members who will serve with Habitat in 25 states across the country

As electric industry regulators prepare for their summer meeting in Nashville, TN, a group of solar and tech organizations and companies, including TechNet, Sierra Club, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), Vote Solar, The Alliance for Solar Choice, CalSEIA, and SolarCity released a paper on designing electricity rates in the era of distributed energy resource

The potential and limitations associated with inclusionary zoning, a tool used by a growing number U.S. cities to encourage or require workforce housing development, are explored in a new Urban Land Institute (ULI) report, The Economics of Inclusionary Zoning.

Apartment markets continued to show mixed conditions in the July 2016 National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions. For the third quarter in a row, the Market Tightness (43) and Equity Financing (44) Indexes remained below the breakeven level of 50. Conversely, the Debt Financing Index came in at 62 and the Sales Volume Index landed right at 50.

New research published by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy shows how metropolitan regions can rebuild for greater resilience during the reconstruction process after major disasters, whether earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, or terrorists attacks

Boosted by a greater share of sales to first-time buyers not seen in nearly four years, existing-home sales maintained their upward trajectory in June and increased for the fourth consecutive month, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Only the Northeast saw a decline in closings in June, and sales to investors fell to their lowest overall share since July 2009.

e National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI) posted a reading of 53 in the second quarter of 2016. Although it slipped one point from the previous quarter, it is still the 13th consecutive quarter with a reading above 50.

At a July 20 event hosted by the Center for American Progress (CAP), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro outlined steps HUD is taking to protect children from lead exposure, including developing procedures to contain lead hazards more effectively, improving lead-prevention policies, and partnering with other leaders and agencies to protect residents from lead poisoning. When asked why a lead problem still exists in 2016, Castro responded, "we have not dedicated the kind of resources that ought to be dedicated to the problem."

Efforts to improve the urban resilience of St. Petersburg, Florida; Boston; Detroit, Charleston, South Carolina; and Portland, Oregon are being supported by grants awarded by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to its district councils serving those areas. ULI is a research and education institute dedicated to responsible land use and creating sustainable, thriving communities worldwide; its district councils advance ULI’s mission in 53 metropolitan regions in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The second webinar in the new series from the National Institute of Building Sciences Off-Site Construction Council (OSCC) is only a week away. The webinar, “Precast Concrete Off-Site Construction: Techniques & Case Studies,” co-sponsored by thePrecast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, will be held July 26 from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm CT (12:00 pm to 1:00 pm ET) and again July 28 from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm CT (12:00 pm to 1:00 pm PT).

On July 19, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) issued a mortgagee letter clarifying the conditions in which it will insure mortgages on properties that have Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) assessments. While PACE structures vary, states generally treat PACE assessments on properties as they do other special assessments, such as property taxes. Under this structure, the owner of the property with a PACE assessment pays off the obligation to the local government, not the party who provided funding for the improvements

Wanted: North America’s most advanced commercial buildings! New Buildings Institute (NBI) is initiating its annual review of advanced energy efficiency commercial projects including zero energy, emerging and ultra-low energy projects.

The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) will spotlight key multifamily challenges and elevate housing policy on the national agenda at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.

Statement from the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) and National Apartment Association (NAA) released in response to the passage of “The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act” in Congress

Corcoran-SunCal, in partnership with the Boston Housing Authority, today announced the launch of its website for ‘One Charlestown’ - the redevelopment of the Bunker Hill Public Housing Development. OneCharlestown.com includes design and planning information, a review of the public engagement process and partnership with the Resident Working Group, as well as images and schematics of the historic project

The National Institute of Building Sciences issued an open letter today to delegates attending the upcoming American Bar Association (ABA) Annual Meeting in August informing of the potential long-term impacts should they vote to support a proposed resolution. The resolution—which advocates that copyrighted codes and standards incorporated by reference in legislation and regulation be made available for free—would alter the way codes and standards are developed in the United States