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HUDNo.12-030

HUD No. 12-030George I. Gonzales(202) 402-6054 FOR RELEASETuesdayFebruary 14, 2012HUD BUDGET CALLS FOR RENEWAL OF SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES GRANTS$100 million in Regional Planning and Community Challenge Grants to improve regional economicprosperity and build stronger local economies WASHINGTON – Today, U.S.  Department of Housing and Urban Development ... Read More »

Home Remodelers Betting on a Rebound

(MCT)—Residential contractors are hoping that tight-fisted consumers will decide they need a new bathroom. Or maybe it’s time for those old kitchen counters to go. Perhaps it would be better to add another bedroom than move? After three years of slumping business, builders anticipate that the home remodeling and improvement sector will pick up in ... Read More »

More Previous Homeowners are Looking to Rent in 2012

Increasingly more people are looking to renting as an affordable, flexible lifestyle option, causing apartment vacancies to fall to their lowest point in 10 years. Reis reported that the apartment vacancy rate dropped to 5.2 percent in Q4 of 2011, down from their reports of 5.6 percent in Q3 of 2011. This higher demand for apartment housing means increased ... Read More »

More households spend half of pay on housing

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — With rent and other housing costs rising and incomes falling, a growing share of working households are spending more than half of their income on housing, according to a new report from the Center for Housing Policy.In 2010, about 24% of U.S. households paid more than half of their income on housing costs, compared with about 22% ... Read More »

Housing crisis could play key role in election

Realty Q&A is a weekly column in which Lew Sichelman, a nationally syndicated columnist who has been covering the housing market for more than 40 years, responds to readers’ questions on real estate. However, in this edition, rather than a Q&A, he reviews a series of new surveys on housing and the election.WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — At no time ... Read More »