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Last week, the president signed a housing bill that gave the Treasury Department the authority to safeguard Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and offered foreclosure prevention help for hundreds of thousands of homeowners. Passed just a week ago by the House and sent to the president over the weekend by the Senate, the bill had been in the works for a long time. Many members of the single-family industry hoped the new law, which includes a $7,500 buyer tax credit, would spur home sales. But some multifamily industry members had expressed concern about parts of the bill–the tax credit in…

On Thursday, the National Association of Realtors reported overall existing-home sales–including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops–declined 2.6 percent. However, as MHN wrote, not all real estate sectors showed a decline. Single-family sales fell 3.2 percent. But condominium and co-op sales increased 1.7 percent. Yes, condo and co-op sales are still below last year’s level. But the fact that they rose at all–as sales of other property types continued to decline–is good news. As the single-family market continues to navigate through rocky waters, multifamily units are still moving for a number of reasons. Lower prices are making condos an even bigger…

Last week, California became the first U.S. state to issue a mandatory green building code that will require energy efficiency and less water consumption. Regulations for single-family, multifamily and commercial structures are also part of the new code. It was a big move for the golden state, and a popular one–the California Building Standards Commission voted unanimously for the green building code, which was designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As MHN reported Monday, the new code will improve water usage in both commercial and residential plumbing fixtures and aim for a 50 percent landscape water conservation reduction. Builders will…

This week, the U.S. government said it would step in to help bolster Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Despite the fact they each have access to a $2 billion line of credit from the government, the two mortgage companies are, for the most part, private firms.  On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson suggested increasing that line of credit significantly. The Fed also said it would let the agencies borrow money at a special rate. Déjà vu Rescue This isn’t the first time the government has stepped in to assist a company this year. Four months ago, the government–with no official…

Green building has grown exponentially in the past few years. Since 2003, the number of cities with green building programs has increased 418 percent, according to the American Institute of Architects. And green building is about to grow even more: The green home market is forecast to increase from $2 billion to possibly $20 billion over the next five years, according to a recent report that was co-sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders. Across the U.S., the frenzy is growing in states such as: North Carolina: Between June 2007 and January 2008, the number of certified and completed…

Higher gas costs are driving up prices for a number of things–airfare, pharmaceuticals, even golf balls–and they’re taking a toll on builders, too. Soaring energy prices have raised construction material prices for both commercial and residential builders, the Dallas Morning News said Friday. In fact, construction costs are rising at more than twice the level of overall consumer prices, according to the Associated General Contractors of America–and costs for some building materials, like steel, concrete and roofing materials, have increased even faster. The higher energy costs translate into higher production prices for building materials, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas economist…

The second largest homebuilder in the U.S., Lennar Corp., announced its fifth quarterly loss in a row today–which unfortunately wasn’t the only the only sign this week that building industry stress is mounting. Miami-based Lennar has had to cut prices to draw buyers, and as a result, its fiscal second quarter results were low: The company had a net loss of $121 million. Revenue fell 61 percent. And even though there were some glimmers of hope in Lennar’s report–its cancellation rate fell from 29 percent last year to 22 percent–Lennar’s future looks anything but rosy because new orders declined 45…

After two days of debate, the Fed announced this afternoon that the federal funds rate will remain at 2 percent. In its April 30 statement, the Federal Open Market Committee sidestepped the issue of whether it felt growth or inflation was the greater concern. And now we know: It’s inflation. After its 9 to 1 vote (according to BusinessWeek, Dallas Fed president Richard W. Fisher voted to increase  the target for the federal funds rate), the central bank said its focus had shifted to inflation, rather than economic expansion. "Although downside risks to growth remain, they appear to have diminished…

It’s Federal Reserve meeting day–and the world is waiting to see how heavily inflation will weigh on the central bank’s decisions. Although the Fed won’t release a statement until the end of the meeting on Wednesday, anticipation is building that the central bank will leave interest rates alone, according to Forbes. The Fed also is likely to comment on the issues facing the U.S. economy–including inflation; some forecasts suggest the Fed will hold its main short-term lending rate at 2 percent for the months to come. Few sources are predicting the Fed will again cut rates this week. For almost…

The dollar is weak–it fell against the euro by the biggest amount since March last week due in part to increased credit market issues and oil costs–which means foreigners can get big deals on U.S. products, vacations and property. In April, the National Association of Realtors said a U.S. home could be bought by a foreigner for an average discount of 30 percent, according to USA Today. The foreign-buyer trend isn’t exactly a new one: The euro been stronger than the dollar lately; but the foreign buyer wave dates back to the housing boom. According to the NAR 2007 Profile…