Housing & Development

Washington, DC - February 4, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- With the strength of the housing market linked directly to overall economic prosperity, Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) are leading the effort in Congress to convince the Obama administration and Federal Reserve to reverse course and continue several key programs due to soon expire or change that are critical to keeping mortgage rates low and making homeownership more attainable.

JEFFERSON CITY, MO - February 3, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Lt. Governor Peter Kinder today released the following statement on the resignation of Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) Director Pete Ramsel

West Hartford, CT - February 3, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Connecticut Real Estate Investors Association, or CT REIA, in association with Andy Heller is announcing the February 2010 monthly meeting with Andy Heller. This event will take place on Monday, February 15th, from 5:30pm to 9:00pm, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cromwell, CT. This event is free for CT REIA members, and $30 for non-members

New York, NY - February 3, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- New York State Senate Finance Committee Chair Carl Kruger and Assembly Ways and Means Committee Chair Herman “Denny” Farrell will conduct a joint budget hearing to examine the Governor’s proposed budget relating to the development and preservation of housing across the state.

Pierre, SD - February 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- South Dakota Housing Development Authority and South Dakota Community Foundation are proud to bring the third course of the National Development Council’s Housing Development Finance Professional Certification Program to South Dakota and the best part is that it is FREE.

Lincoln, NE - February 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The 8th annual Housing Innovation Marketplace, sponsored by NIFA, was held on January 26-27, 2010 at the Omaha Regency Marriot Hotel. The goal of the conference was to stimulate the formation of affordable ownership and rental housing development.

Lincoln, NE - February 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The 8th annual Housing Innovation Marketplace, sponsored by NIFA, was held on January 26-27, 2010 at the Omaha Regency Marriot Hotel. The goal of the conference was to stimulate the formation of affordable ownership and rental housing development.

Lincoln, NE - February 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The 8th annual Housing Innovation Marketplace, sponsored by NIFA, was held on January 26-27, 2010 at the Omaha Regency Marriot Hotel. The goal of the conference was to stimulate the formation of affordable ownership and rental housing development.

New York, NY - February 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- New York State's housing finance agencies, for the third year in a row, led the country in financing multifamily and single-family affordable housing in 2009.

February 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Institute of Residential Marketing (IRM) named Manny Schatz, MIRM, CMP, CAPS, CAASH, the 2009 recipient of the Trina Ripley Excellence in Education Award. The award was presented to Schatz, principal of a builder consulting firm Professional Builder Services, Inc. in Danville, Calif., at The National Sales and Marketing Awards Gala held during the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas on Jan. 19.

BISMARCK, ND - February 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The 19th Annual Statewide Housing Conference, “Housing Matters,” will be held Feb. 23-24, 2010, at the Ramkota Hotel in Bismarck.

February 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- What makes the... "Buy Low, Rent Smart, Sell High" strategy so attractive today is that, unlike many models, the investor's profits are not dependent on real estate appreciation. In fact, real estate appreciation is just one of six profit sources in the "Buy Low, Rent Smart, Sell High" strategy.

Washington, D.C. - February 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, U.S. Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet congratulated Denver City Councilman Rick Garcia on his appointment by the Obama Administration to serve as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Region VIII Director. Senators Udall and Bennet recommended Garcia for the position, based on his longstanding advocacy on behalf of Colorado residents and his distinguished background in public policy and economic development. In the position, Garcia will oversee fair and affordable housing initiatives in Colorado and five other western states.

Mixed-Use Apartment Community Expected to Achieve LEED Certification. Greenbelt, MD - February 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Bozzuto Group today announced The Fitzgerald at UB Midtown is on track to become the most sizeable LEED certified apartment community in the Baltimore area.

JERICHO, NY - February 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Despite a tight lending market, Metropolitan Realty Associates, the owner of the Sunrise Business Center in Great River, and its equity partner Angelo, Gordon & Co., LP. have successfully negotiated an extension of their mortgage on the 388,500-square-foot Class A office complex, President Joseph A. Farkas announced today.

Atlanta, GA - February 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Prudential Georgia Realty is proud to announce the latest experienced agent team to join its sales team. Award-winning Realtor Ronnie Hinton and his team, known as Ronnie Hinton & Associates, are the latest to join Prudential Georgia Realty’s Midtown office, located on Peachtree Street a few blocks from the High Museum.

Jackson, MS - January 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- EastGroup Properties (NYSE-EGP) today announced the acquisition of the Ocean View Corporate Center in San Diego, California for a purchase price of $17,000,000. Located in the Otay Mesa submarket, Ocean View contains 274,000 square feet in three, multi-tenant business distribution industrial buildings. Constructed in 2005, the complex is presently 87% leased to 14 customers. Ocean View is projected to generate an annualized yield of 9.6% at its current occupancy and rents.

NEW YORK, NY - January 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The boards of the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC) and the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) today approved $38.9 million in grants and mortgage insurance commitments to preserve 296 units of housing in New York State.

Voucher Requests Exceed Funding Available; Applications No Longer Accepted. Topeka, KS - January 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC) has committed approximately $2.7 million in funding for the State Energy Efficient Appliance Replacement Program (SEEARP). As of today, voucher requests received by KHRC exceed funding available. Because of that, new applications for SEEARP can no longer be accepted

CONSHOHOCKEN, PA - January 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Metro Commercial announced today that they have been selected by GIANT Food Stores to sublease five of their surplus locations in Pennsylvania. The Giant-Carlisle Division of Ahold USA, headquartered in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, is a leading supermarket chain in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia with grocery stores operating under the names of GIANT Food Stores and MARTIN'S Food Markets.

BEDFORD, N.H. - January 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- At its recent meeting, New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority’s Board of Directors approved funding for two rental housing projects: Bow Highlands in Bow and Lochmere Meadows in Tilton.

FORT WORTH, TX - January 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today awarded at total of $824,707,000 to three fair housing organizations in Texas to assist people who believe they have been victims of housing discrimination.

More than half of home buyers in the 2009 Profile of Illinois Home Buyers and Sellers were first-time buyers, due in large part to the first-time homebuyer tax credit stimulus and increased affordability in home prices in the last year. The survey results released by the Illinois Association of REALTORS® (IAR) found 51% of buyers were first-time buyers, compared to 47% nationwide (a figure which has averaged closer to 40% nationwide since 2001). When asked about the primary reason for timing of the home purchase, 46% of first-time buyers said it was just the right time.

DEKALB, IL - January 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Pat Quinn today announced that Northern Illinois University (NIU) will get $8 million to renovate Cole Hall, which on Feb. 14, 2008 was the tragic scene of an unprovoked attack where five students were shot and 19 were wounded. An additional $2.3 million will be used to plan for the renovation of Stevens Building.

January 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) Director Anas Ben Addi , along with Secretary of the Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families (DSCYF) Vivian Rapposelli, today announced that DSHA has been awarded fifty (50) Family Unification Housing Vouchers through the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s competitive application process. In addition to helping bring families together, these vouchers can now also be used to provide housing assistance to youth between 18 and 21 years of age who have left foster care and need affordable and decent housing in a safe environment.

WASHINGTON, DC - January 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Dennis Cardoza said today he had lost confidence in the top housing official in the Obama Administration, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan.

PORTLAND, Ore. - January 25, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Lee Moore has been elected chair of the Housing Authority of Portland’s (HAP’s) Board of Commissioners for 2010, and Brian Lessler and Amie Pico have been appointed to the nine-member citizen commission.

SPRINGFIELD, IL - January 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Illinois housing markets show signs of stabilizing as low interest rates and the tax credit stimulus helped to reduce inventories through the end of 2009 while more markets reported median price increases in December. According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS® latest report, statewide total home sales (which include single-family and condominiums) in December 2009 were up 20.1 percent, totaling 8,197 homes sold compared to December 2008 sales of 6,823 homes, marking the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year sales increases statewide. The median price in December 2009 was $152,000 down 1.9 percent from $155,000 in December 2008. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less

CHICAGO, IL - January 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the City of Chicago a Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) grant in the amount of $98,008,384 through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These grants are competitively awarded to local governments and non-profit housing developers to spur economic development and create jobs in hard-hit communities

January 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Phil Hare (D-IL) today released the following statement praising the Obama Administration for opening a new transitional housing facility in Cocoa, Florida for homeless female veterans. Hare has introduced the Help Our Homeless Veterans Act, legislation that would mandate the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to dedicate funding for a National Media Outreach Campaign on homelessness with a specific focus on women.