Archives

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and its allies, including the National Association of Homebuilders, made it clear that they intend to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn two lower court decisions upholding the Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprint. The AFBF requested an extension of time to ask the Supreme Court to hear an appeal of their lawsuit challenging the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint

Following three straight months of gains, existing–home sales dipped in August despite slowing price growth and a positive turnaround in the share of sales to first–time buyers, according to the National Association of Realtors®. None of the four major regions experienced sales increases in August.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) today issued the following statement on the Department of Energy’s release of a common definition of a zero energy building, or what is also referred to as a “net zero energy” or “zero net energy” building. Please attribute to AIA President Elizabeth Chu Richter, FAIA

A new, highly interactive Solar Career Map launched today by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) is designed for workforce professionals, educators, policymakers and job seekers. It explores an expanding universe of solar-energy occupations, describing diverse jobs across the industry, charting possible progression between them, and identifying the high-quality training necessary to do them well.

The Association of Mortgage Professionals, announced today that John Yeager, Branch Manager of Summit Mortgage in Valley Center, California, has won the first NAMB Social Media Contest. Over the past several months mortgage professionals from across the country have been encouraged to tell the world what makes them a mortgage professional and to use the #MortgagePro hashtag when they do.

The Alliance to Save Energy is proud to host the 23rd annual Evening with the Stars of Energy Efficiency Awards Dinner at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C. This year’s Awards Dinner, affectionately referred to as the ‘Energy Prom’, welcomes 400 key players and influencers within the energy efficiency field to gather and celebrate the achievements of individuals, companies and policymakers

Nationwide housing starts dropped 3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.126 million units in August, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department. Overall permit issuance rose 3.5 percent to a rate of 1.170 million.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reached a significant milestone in bringing the building community together by releasing a common definition for a zero energy building, or what is also referred to as a “net zero energy” or “zero net energy” building

Habitat for Humanity is partnering with Valspar, Habitat’s national paint partner, and Wells Fargo to launch the first national A Brush with Kindness Week, Sept. 19-26. A Brush with Kindness Week is a nationwide effort to transform neighborhoods by painting, landscaping and providing minor exterior home repairs in partnership with low-income homeowners, many of whom are elderly or have a disability.

Mortgage applications decreased 7.0 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 11, 2015. The week's results included an adjustment for the Labor Day holiday.

An administrative law judge has ruled that the cleaning contractor, Emerald Green Building Services, engaged in unlawful actions when it refused to hire incumbent janitors at Cross Point Towers, Lowell’s premier office building, and Nagog Park, an office park in Acton. The judge found that Emerald Green unlawfully refused to hire the incumbent workers because of their affiliation with the labor union 32BJ SEIU.

On September 10, Representative Dan Donovan (R-NY) offered a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) related amendment during the relevant House subcommittee’s markup of the overall Homeland Security Authorization bill. The amendment passed with no opposition and would go to great lengths in assisting multifamily owners in preparing and mitigating against future flood risks. It also seeks to address many of the criticisms of the agency’s handling of the claims process in New York and New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy.

Nine grantees will collectively receive $170,000 in grants to equip affordable single- and multi-family homes with solar power, announced NeighborWorks America, a national nonprofit that creates opportunities for people to live in affordable homes, improve their lives and strengthen their communities. The average household pays nearly $170 each month in energy costs, and the typical homeowner saves more than $1,000 a year on electricity by installing roof-top solar panels

Project developers and community members in Detroit now have an easy reference guide for finding financing from Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) for a range of needs, including consumer mortgages, business loans, real estate projects, and mixed-use developments.

In commemoration of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s 50th anniversary, House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) has issued a call for ideas to reform HUD and modernize the delivery of federal housing assistance. Hensarling argues that HUD has not lived up to the expectations set for the agency by President Lyndon Johnson when he created the department, stating, “instead of marshaling federal resources towards the

In reaction to updates to the Common Securitization Platform released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), NCRC President and CEO John Taylor made the following statement

“The House Energy and Commerce Committee will meet tomorrow and Thursday to consider a comprehensive energy bill that would advance energy efficiency policy on several fronts: support for federal data center efficiency, assistance to public schools for efficiency retrofits and deployment of distributed generation, promotion of efficiency in the industrial and manufacturing sectors and consensus language to facilitate negotiations on new furnace standards.

A new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) predicts substantially more solar generating capacity will get built in the United States, and a major industry downturn will be avoided, if the federal solar investment tax credit (ITC) is extended at its current level.

GRID Alternatives, America’s largest non-profit solar installer, today announced a partnership with NeighborWorks America, a national nonprofit that creates opportunities for people to live in affordable homes, improve their lives, and strengthen their communities, to extend the benefits of solar energy to lowincome families in New Jersey, New York, Colorado, and California. The partnership was announced at a three-home solar installation in Camden, N.J., one of the nation’s most economically disadvantaged communities

Long-time workers who lost their jobs for standing up for good pay and a union at 1711 Fulton Street in Bed-Stuy are back on the job today after the building owner agreed to reinstate them, recognize 32BJ SEIU as their union and sign a union contract that restores the pay and benefits they had been earning under the previous owner