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LOS ANGELES, CA - April 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The share of distressed homes sold in March declined from February, but was unchanged from a year ago, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.

San Francisco, CA - April 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco has allocated $12 million to its 2011 Workforce Initiative Subsidy for Homeownership (WISH) and Individual Development and Empowerment Account (IDEA) first-time homebuyer programs.

Washington, DC - April 18, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) yesterday reintroduced H.R. 1567, the Foreclosure Prevention and Sound Mortgage Servicing Act of 2011. Congresswoman Waters has introduced similar legislation since the 110th Congress, and has long maintained that the servicing industry is broken. By reintroducing and updating the bill, Congresswoman Waters continues to demonstrate her commitment to ending the foreclosure crisis and holding servicers accountable.

LOS ANGELES, CA - April 14, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Improvement in the overall economy and favorable market conditions led to increases in both the median price and home sales in March, according to data from the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.).

San Francisco, CA - April 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have drafted consent decrees with the nation’s largest mortgage servicers that would purportedly improve their foreclosure practices. These legal agreements represent an inadequate attempt by regulators to address illegal servicing practices that have caused countless people to lose their homes.

April 6, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Long Beach Housing Development Company (LBHDC) and Councilmember Robert Garcia, 1st District, today demolished a check cashing facility that had long been a public nuisance for area residents and businesses

LOS ANGELES, CA - March 31, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) today announced it has partnered with Fannie Mae on an initiative designed to help REALTORS® quickly resolve issues that may arise after a short sale offer is made on a Fannie Mae-backed loan. The Fannie Mae Short Sale Assistance Desk ("Assistance Desk") provides brokers and agents the ability to significantly shorten the time they have to wait for approval on Fannie Mae short sale transactions and helps real estate professionals with the handling of post-contract issues such as loan servicer responsiveness, the existence of a second lien or issues involving mortgage insurance.

Washington, DC - March 30, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, introduced legislation to permanently abolish the affordable housing goals of the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

San Francisco, CA - March 24, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLBank San Francisco) today announced that Clearinghouse Community Development Financial Institution (Clearinghouse CDFI), the newest member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, is the first non-depository community development financial institution (CDFI) to borrow from a Federal Home Loan Bank.

March 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has selected San Francisco’s HOPE SF transformation plan for Alice Griffith Public Housing Development and the surrounding Bayview neighborhood as a finalist in its Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant competition. The Alice Griffith Plan was one of 42 plans submitted by communities nationwide competing for the $61 million in total funding and one of six finalists to enter the second application round

Washington, DC - March 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), a senior member of the Financial Services Committee and a top congressional advocate for affordable housing, reintroduced H.R. 1209, The Section 8 Voucher Reform Act (SEVRA), late last week. The bill would reform the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program, which provides rental housing assistance to 2 million low-income American families

LOS ANGELES, CA - March 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Pending home sales rose in February, as did the share of distressed properties sold, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.

SACRAMENTO, CA - March 22, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Housing production in California continued to decline in February as builders pulled fewer permits for new homes when compared to January and when compared to February of 2010, the California Building Industry Association announced today

LAS VEGAS, CA - March 21, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Dozens of volunteer contractors renovated the home of a Las Vegas family whose 16-year old daughter is suffering from a rare form of epilepsy that is increasingly forcing her to be wheelchair bound. The renovation project, organized by the philanthropic organization AGC Charities, Inc., was the group's second annual Operation Opening Doors effort.

SAN JOSE, CA - March 18, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Tara Denise Bonelli, 31, of Santa Cruz, Calif., was arrested today by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced. Yesterday, a federal grand jury in San Jose indicted Bonelli, charging her with 18 counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, and three counts of money laundering

Washington, DC - March 17, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The House of Representatives voted today to end the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), which Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) created and which President George W. Bush signed into law three years ago under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA). Last week, House Republicans also voted to end the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Short Refinance Program and the Emergency Homeowners Relief Program (EHRP), the latter of which Congresswoman Waters worked to include in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.

WASHINGTON D.C. - March 17, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) --Today Congresswoman Laura Richardson (CA-37) introduced an amendment to H.R. 861, the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) Termination Act, which would avoid the abrupt end of the NSP, a program that has helped rescue communities devastated by the national financial crisis.

Washington, D.C. - March 17, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Over the past two weeks Congressman Howard Berman (CA-28) has voted against three separate Republican proposals that would hurt struggling homeowners and further exacerbate the foreclosure crisis facing California. Congressman Berman has been working to help homeowners struggling to avoid foreclosure and recently hosted a Homeowners Assistance and Retention Workshop in Van Nuys where over 100 Valley residents received free counseling.

LOS ANGELES, CA - March 16, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Following three months of sales gains, California home sales posted a weaker-than-expected performance and declined in February, according to data from the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.).

Washington, D.C. - March 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today joined with Senate Democrats and veterans advocates to condemn a provision in the House Republicans’ budget that would eliminate housing assistance to 10,000 homeless veterans nationwide. The Republicans’ proposed cuts could undermine a program that has helped keep thousands of veterans in California off the streets.