News

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBoston–Enterprise Community Investment Inc., along with Trinity Financial Inc. and the Boston Housing Authority (BHA), are making a $45 million Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) equity investment for Phase II of Franklin Hill redevelopment, located at 1 Shandon Rd. in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood.Trinity Financial and the BHA completed development of the first phase of Franklin Hill earlier this year. Phase II of Franklin Hill will feature 152 affordable rental units, which will bring the total number of affordable rental units at Franklin Hill to 266.“Enterprise is proud to enter the Boston affordable housing market…

Washington, D.C.–U.S. home prices are going to fall further this year, according to 10 major bank economists with the American Bankers Association.While meeting with Federal Reserve officials this week in Washington, D.C., economists from banks including Wells Fargo Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Northern Trust, SunTrust Banks, PNC Financial Services Group and Huntington Bancorp said that the U.S. housing market is halfway through its overall price deterioration.The reduction in consumer spending, higher fuel and food costs, stricter lending practices, high unemployment and general lack of optimism about the economy were all cited as factors, the San Jose Mercury News said.”There are a…

Washington, D.C.–Mortgage industry officials and business organizations are encouraging lawmakers to remove portions of a housing bill they feel would hurt lenders, BusinessWeek said Wednesday.Six groups–the American Financial Services Association, the Consumer Bankers Association, the Consumer Mortgage Coalition, Mortgage Bankers Association, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Financial Services Roundtable–sent a letter Tuesday to lawmakers that questioned the bill’s provision to make lenders select the best loan for each borrower.The groups feel that the requirement could result in lawsuits and cause lenders to “reduce the number and type of products to consumers.”The letter–sent to the two senior members of the…

Cincinnati–Fifth Third Bancorp.–a large regional bank based in Cincinnati–said Wednesday that it would cut its dividend by 66 percent and raise at least $2 billion in capital to make up for growing credit losses, the New York Times reports.With $111 billion in assets and 1,314 branches in 12 states, Fifth Third is the second-largest bank headquartered in Ohio, which has been one of the states most affected by the U.S. housing slump.Other Ohio-based banks–including National City Corporation and KeyCorp, the state’s largest and third-largest lenders–also had to raise capital and reduce dividends this year.Fifth Third plans to issue 1 billion…

Boston–The rocky financial market is reducing funding for affordable apartment construction in the Boston area, according to the Boston Globe.As a result, costs for some low-rent apartment projects are increasing–and other projects are being canceled.Affordable housing construction is funded largely through a credit given to developers that cuts taxable income by a certain amount; the credit can be sold to banks or other companies to raise money. But because the value of the tax-forgiveness credits that the federal government allows developers to sell to raise funds has declined, construction money is tight. A year ago, a $1 reduction sold for…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorNew York–“Designing for a Sustainable Future” was the theme of the keynote presentation at GreenBuildingsNY, held at New York’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center from June 17-18. The keynote speaker, Bruce Fowle (pictured), senior partner at New York-based FXFowle Architects, discussed the advantages that high-density, urban developments have over those sprawled throughout the suburbs. “Vertical, high-density development is the greenest we can do,” Fowle stated, pointing to New York as a prime example of a city that utilizes this design principle on a grand scale.Currently in New York City, there are over 20 LEED-Certified buildings and…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorCharlotte, N.C.–The Bank of America Charitable Foundation has announced a $1 million grant to Conservation International’s (CI) Center for Environmental Leadership in Business (CELB) to promote private-sector environmental stewardship. The grant is part of Bank of America’s $20 billion, 10-year environmental initiative to reduce climate change through lending, investing, creating new products and services, sponsoring philanthropy and reviewing operations.“We have been partnering with CI since the 1990s, either for philanthropic initiatives or in educating customers about environmental issues,” Kaj Jenson, vice president of public policy, Bank of America, tells MHN.Conservation International created CELB to engage…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–Total new-home starts (single-family and multifamily) declined 3.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 975,000 units in May, the lowest total starts number since March 1991, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.Multifamily starts dropped 8 percent, falling into a 301,000-unit rate after a substantial uptick in April. A National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) report termed this a “more realistic rate.” Meanwhile, multifamily permits rose 3.9 percent to 346,000 units.Total housing starts fell in three out of four regions in May, with the Midwest posting a 25 percent decline from the previous…

Washington, D.C.–U.S. home construction was less than expected in May, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.The number of single-family home starts dropped 1.3 percent last month, reaching a 17-year low. Privately-owned housing starts dropped 3.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 975,000; April’s starts were revised to 1,008,000, CNNMoney.com reports.Building permit applications declined 1.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 969,000 last month from a revised 982,000 April rate.

Washington, D.C.–Increased production costs in May–due mostly to higher oil prices–may mean higher costs in June, according to government data.In May, the Producer Price Index grew 1.4 percent–its quickest rate in six months–which could indicate that inflation is becoming more of a concern, the New York Times said Tuesday. The wholesale gasoline price increased 9.3 percent in May. Residential gas costs grew 3.8 percent, and the total price of consumer goods escalated by 1.8 percent.However, the cost of women’s clothing, computers and passenger cars showed a small decline.