Housing starts and permits shattered expectations in July, both hitting recent highs for residential construction. According to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, starts spiked 22.6% from the revised June estimate — the largest month-over-month gain since October 2016. That annualized pace is up 23.4% from July 2019, and […]
Trump Scraps Fair Housing Rule
Trump and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, led by Ben Carson, last week officially scrapped a rule meant to ensure compliance with the Fair Housing Act of 1968. Enshrined in 2015, the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing policy held communities accountable for providing fair housing by requiring any town that wanted to receive HUD […]
What Agents Should Know About Fair Housing Violations
Discrimination in housing can be a serious issue for real estate agents if they’re not adequately educated and informed on the latest federal and state fair housing guidelines. Unfortunately, fair housing laws are sometimes skimmed over in professional training and continuing education courses as well as at brokerage sales meetings. These laws are extremely important and […]
Trump Names FHA Nominee
The Trump administration announced last Thursday it plans to nominate Dana Wade to serve as HUD’s assistant secretary for housing and federal housing commissioner, a role that would put her in charge of the Federal Housing Administration. Brian Montgomery holds that role now, and is currently awaiting a full Senate vote to confirm him as […]
Oct. 28 CVAR At A Glance
Featured Classes and Events Oct. 28 | License Renewal Crash Course Oct. 31 | Halloween – Boo! Nov. 4 | CRMLS Training – Free – Glendora Nov. 5 | Maximize Downpayment Assistance – CVAR East (Rancho Cucamonga) Nov. 6 | Relevant Agent 2020 – Covenant House Fundraiser Nov. 7 | CVAR Caravan – Speaker HUD’s Nancy […]
What ‘Affordable’ Looks Like
Communities often oppose “affordable housing” because they think it’s for the destitute. But these days, middle-income earners usually qualify for “affordable housing.” Affordable housing could be more accurately termed “workforce housing.” One REALTOR® describes a difficult transaction that not only involved an individual buyer, but also the local community, which at first opposed her development […]
No Appraisal Required for Certain Homes
Certain home sales of $400,000 or less will not need an appraisal since federal regulators approved a proposal to increase the threshold at which residential home sales require an appraisal. Last November, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve released a proposal that would increase […]
Aug. 26 CVAR At A Glance
Featured Classes and Events Aug. 26 | MLO Renewal – CVAR HQ Aug. 29 | CVAR YPN at Quakes Game – Rancho Cucamonga Aug. 30 | Ethics Day Replay – All Locations Aug. 31-Sept. 2 | CVAR Offices Closed for Labor Day Weekend Sept. 5 | Contract College, Thursdays – CVAR East Sept. 5 | […]
Where Presidential Candidates Stand on Housing
The affordable housing crisis is squeezing the middle class and the poor alike. The Trump administration has targeted rental-assistance and public housing programs for cuts, which some Democrats are saying put low-income Americans at risk of eviction, making housing policy a major issue in the 2020 election. Curbed is following where the candidates stand on […]
Carson Named Affordable Housing Council Chair
President Donald Trump has signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Council on Eliminating Barriers to Affordable Housing, and named HUD Secretary Ben Carson as its chairperson. According to HUD, the new Council will be composed of members from eight Federal agencies, intended to engage with State, local, and tribal leaders across the country […]