Albany, NY - January 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- It’s never been easier to find out how to cut your energy costs and make your home more environmentally friendly than at this year’s Great Northeast Home Show.

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.

NEW YORK, NY - January 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Senator Jeff Klein (D-34th Senate District), Senator William Stachowski (D-58th Senate District) and Senator Antoine Thompson (D-60th Senate District) were joined by officials from the Town of Cheektowaga and City of Buffalo

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 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System & Registry (NMLS)—a mortgage licensing system operated by state financial regulators, including Idaho—is launching “NMLS Consumer Access.” NMLS Consumer Access is a fully searchable website that allows the public to view information concerning state-licensed mortgage companies, branches, and individuals currently licensed through NMLS

Atlanta, GA - January 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- On January 25, 2010, the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance (“Department”) entered into a Consent Order with Lenox Financial Mortgage, LLC, mortgage lender’s license number 19100, located at 6 Piedmont Center, Suite 500, 3525 Piedmont Road, Atlanta, Georgia, 30305, as well as its members, Jon M. Shibley and Stefen Shibley,to resolve allegations that they violated the Georgia Residential Mortgage Act and the Georgia Fair Lending Act.The terms of the Consent Order include a series of requirements that Lenox Financial Mortgage, LLC, among other things, shall develop and implement policies, procedures and best practices that will ensure compliance with state law and related Department rules regarding Georgia residential mortgage activity. Lenox Financial Mortgage, LLC shall pay fines and make a contribution to the State Regulatory Registry, LLC to support the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System.

WASHINGTON, DC - January 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) – a bicameral Congressional Committee composed of ten members from the Senate and House of Representatives – today released a new economic snapshot report on Florida. The report provides a comprehensive overview of how the nation inherited the current Recession from the previous Administration and Republican Party and shows where growth and recovery have begun to take hold in areas such as home prices and personal income.

Sioux City, IA - January 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Inspection Services Division would like to remind property owners who have rental property within the city to register the property before it is to be rented or leased.

WASHINGTON, DC - January 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Senator Chuck Grassley today said that $1,045,000 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development was released to Council Bluffs and Marshalltown through the regular appropriations process.

CHICAGO, IL - January 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) today announced it had indefinitely suspended the licenses of Edward Kent, a Real Estate Broker and Associate Appraiser who had been convicted of a crime that caused his name to be placed in the Illinois Sex Offender Database. After receiving a complaint about Mr. Kent, the Department undertook to compare its more than one million licensees against that database.

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.

FRANKFORT, KY - January 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Kentucky consumers considering a mortgage now have a new online resource to make sure their lender is licensed.

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.

Washington, DC - January 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Dave Loebsack (D-IA) announces $4,847,522 for home heating assistance to aid Iowa families and seniors who are struggling in the current economic crisis. Congressman Loebsack is an avid supporter of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), and urged President Obama to quickly release these funds.

Atlanta, GA - January 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- On January 22, 2010, an Order to Cease and Desist issued by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance (“Department”) to Contract Asset Management, LLC d/b/a Exclusive Properties located at 2550 Heritage Court, Suite 200, Atlanta, Georgia 30339 became final.This Order to Cease and Desist was issued by the Department after it obtained evidence that Contract Asset Management, LLC d/b/a Exclusive Properties engaged in residential mortgage brokering/lending activities without a license or under an applicable exemption in violation of O.C.G.A. § 7-1-1002.

ORLANDO, FL - January 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Florida’s existing home sales rose in December, marking 16 months that sales activity has increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors

SACRAMENTO, CA - January 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- California homebuilders put up the lowest number of homes for a single year in 2009, beating the previous low that was set in 2008, the California Building Industry Association announced today.

Providence, RI - January 25, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- As Rhode Island and the rest of the nation continue to battle a troubled economy, the federal government is recognizing the important role that Rhode Island Housing and other Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) throughout the nation are playing in the nation’s recovery efforts.

LOS ANGELES, CA - January 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- calREDD™ today announced a succession of successful launches at the Chico Association of REALTORS®, the Oroville Association of REALTORS®, and the Paradise Association of REALTORS®. Members of those associations now can view properties for sale, place listings, prepare CMAs, and access agents for referrals via calREDD™, the statewide Multiple Listing Service (MLS). calREDD™ has been up and running to users’ acclaim since Jan. 11 at the Lake County Association of REALTORS® and since Aug. 17 at the Madera Association of REALTORS® and the Merced Association of REALTORS

Trenton, NJ - January 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Tuesday, January 19, 2010 – Urban Word, LLC and its development partners, Trenton Makes, Inc. and WSP Associates, LLC will hold a groundbreaking ceremony on January 27th at Noon to mark the renovation of the Sterling Building at 811 South Broad Street. The project is a mixed-use redevelopment project attempting to achieve LEED Certification.

Congressman Rangel Hails Funding for Energy-Efficiency Renovations on 135th Street Multi-Family Housing Project. Washington, DC - January 25, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) — Congressman Charles Rangel was pleased to learn recently that the Obama Administration’s first stimulus award for funding “green” apartment renovations will serve Northern Manhattan. The award– a $3.6 million federal housing loan to New-York [...]

Melville, NY - January 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Susan D. Cunningham, CPA, has been named Partner in the Tax Advisory Services and Real Estate Services groups at Marcum LLP. She is responsible for providing a wide-scope of tax services including planning, consulting, structuring, research and compliance to large and small business owners.

South Portland, ME - January 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- If you are searching for a luxury rental apartment in one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities Portland, there’s no other way around it. Exploring right Portland Apartment is the intelligent choice to save your time and money. Your rental Apartment should be such prompting your beautiful new place to call it as a ‘home’

Tempe, AZ - January 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Fidelity National Title, one of Arizona's largest title insurance and escrow service companies, in partnership with Cromford Report, a subscription-based online statistical resource on the Metropolitan Phoenix residential resale market, today confirmed that the top of the Arizona real estate market was in June of 2006, with the bottom hitting in April of 2009. Maximum inventory of homes on the market was in late April of 2008

West Hartford, CT - January 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Connecticut Real Estate Investors Association, or CT REIA, is announcing a 3-day new investor workshop program. This program will begin on Thursday, February 4th, 2010. Additional dates for the program are February 11th and 18th. These meetings will take place at the Comfort Inn in Meriden, CT, from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. Tuition for this 3-day program is $140 for CT REIA Members, and $180 for non-members.