Yearly Archives: 2010

February 18, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A 33-year-old Long Beach man who operated a number of ventures that he used to solicit money with false claims of profitable investments in real estate has pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge.

SACRAMENTO, CA - February 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Housing affordability in California continued to fall throughout most of the state during the fourth quarter of 2009, the California Building Industry Association said today.

SACRAMENTO, CA - February 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The pace of home sales at California new-home communities was moderately lower than levels seen a year ago, the California Building Industry Association reported today.

February 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- With the help of a few key partners, the YWCA Greater Los Angeles (YWCA GLA) and its LA Job Corps program have successfully embarked upon building a new Urban Campus which will be the prototype for Job Corps programs around the country.

LOS ANGELES, CA - February 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The percentage of households that could afford to buy an entry-level home in California remained at 64 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with 61 percent (revised) for the same period a year ago, according to a report released today by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.).

SACRAMENTO, CA - February 12, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A preliminary report released today by the California Homebuilding Foundation (CHF) in conjunction with the Center for Strategic Economic Research (CSER), shows that the downturn in new-home building has resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs and tens of billions of dollars in economic output to California’s economy.

San Francisco, CA - February 9, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Board of Directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco has appointed three new members to its Affordable Housing Advisory Council (AHAC)—Jasmine Borrego of TELACU; Joel Jacinto of Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA); and Dean Matsubayashi of Little Tokyo Service Center Community Development Corporation (LTSC). The Bank’s AHAC is a 15-member group that provides guidance on affordable housing and economic development issues and helps shape the Bank’s community investment grant programs and credit products

February 8, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- After saturating neighborhoods of predominantly black and Latino residents with high-cost, often predatory lending throughout the subprime boom, banks have failed at preventing foreclosures while returning to high and disparate rates of loan denial for applicants of color, according to a new report by the California Reinvestment Coalition.

DALLAS, TX - February 4, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- First American Valuation and Property Solutions, a member of The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF) family of companies and a leader in residential property valuations, inspections and preservation services, today announced its new valuation service, the Appraiser-Validated Price Opinion.

Washington, DC - February 4, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- On Saturday, February 6, 2010, Rep. Calvert, in conjunction with the Housing Opportunities Collaborative of the Inland Empire, the Federal Housing Administration, Housing and Urban Development, the City of Corona and Crossroads Christian Church, will host a homeownership preservation workshop

Washington, DC - February 3, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Congressman Joe Baca (D-Rialto) introduced legislation to give certain preferences to individuals and families committed to rebuilding communities when purchasing government owned residential property. The First Look at Primary Residence Act requires the federal government, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to consider purchase offers from only those who plan to use the property as their primary residence for the first 15 days that the properties are listed. After that time period, the seller is allowed to consider any offer.

February 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Institute of Residential Marketing (IRM) named Manny Schatz, MIRM, CMP, CAPS, CAASH, the 2009 recipient of the Trina Ripley Excellence in Education Award. The award was presented to Schatz, principal of a builder consulting firm Professional Builder Services, Inc. in Danville, Calif., at The National Sales and Marketing Awards Gala held during the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas on Jan. 19.

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.

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.

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

WASHINGTON, DC - January 18, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Laura Richardson is pleased to announce that the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) has awarded $22 million to the City of Long Beach and additional millions to the 37th District counseling partner Los Angeles Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. The funds are a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) and are distributed as part of HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which requires the funds be used to improve the quality of and access to housing for low- and moderate-income families.

January 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced that $318 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) funding has been awarded to entities in California by the Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD). These awards are funded through the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP2) to help renovate and rehabilitate foreclosed homes, eliminate blight and reinvigorate and stabilize the affected neighborhoods hit hardest by foreclosures.

LOS ANGELES, CA - January 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Real Estate Mobile Technologies LLC (REMT), the New Jersey Association of REALTORS® (NJAR), and the North-Shore Barrington Association of REALTORS® (NSBAR) today announced the launch of NJAR and NSBAR Stats, the localized versions of My AOR. My AOR is the first native iPhone application developed for REALTOR® associations nationwide. The mobile application is available at no charge for members of NJAR and NSBAR. Designed for the iPhone/iTouch, My AOR features: Current loan information; association resources; the ability to search for education courses; hot item news alerts; and links to information that may be of interest to association directors.

SACRAMENTO, CA - January 13, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The pace of home sales at California new-home communities was slightly lower than levels seen a year ago, the California Building Industry Association reported today

January 13, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Continuing California’s efforts to fight climate change and protect the environment, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced the California Building Standards Commission unanimously adopted the first-in-the-nation mandatory Green Building Standards Code (CALGREEN) requiring all new buildings in the state to be more energy efficient and environmentally responsible. Taking effect on January 1, 2011, these comprehensive regulations will achieve major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and water use to create a greener California