“My testimony today will describe the conclusions and recommendations made by the Council in its third annual report.  The report represents extensive collaboration among staff of Council members and member agencies to provide Congress and the public with the Council’s assessment of significant financial market and regulatory developments, potential emerging threats to financial stability, and recommendations to strengthen the financial system.  The annual report is a key way that the Council can share its collective perspective and provide information on its activities to Congress and the public.” MORE: http://www.loansafe.org/testimony-of-secretary-jacob-j-lew-on-financial-system-and-housing-market-recovery

On Saturday, May 18th, Armed Forces Day, retired U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Moises Solorio, a decorated, disabled Veteran, received the keys to his new home in Hutchins, Texas. A member of the Dallas community, he served two tours of duty in the Iraq War and is raising two young children on his own. This is his first home. SEE MORE HERE >> Retired Military Veteran and Single Father

Homesales probably rose in April to the highest level in more than three years, extending gains in residential real estate that are giving the U.S. expansion a lift, economists said before reports this week. Combined purchases of new and existing residences climbed to a 5.41 million annualized rate last month, the highest since November 2009, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg ahead of figures from the National Association of Realtors and the Commerce Department. Other data may show orders to manufacturers improved after slumping in March by the most in seven months. MORE: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-19/home-sales-probably-rose-toward-2009-high-u-s-economy-preview.html

Just a year since the U.S. housing market hit bottom after the biggest plunge in eight decades, signs of excess are re-emerging. A home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles that received 11 offers. An open house for a five-bedroom brownstone in Brooklyn, New York, priced at $949,000 drew 300 visitors and brought in 50 offers. Three thousand miles away in Menlo Park, California, a one-story home listed for $2 million got six offers last month, including four from builders planning to tear it down to construct a bigger house. In south Florida, ground zero for the last building boom and bust, 3,300 new condominium units are under way, the most since 2007. MORE: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-16/brooklyn-to-california-bubble-threat-grows-in-housing.html

Texas lawmakers would have a huge say in whether developers receive an award of low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) under a bill passed by the state House of Representatives. Letters of support or opposition from legislators would be highly scored in the fierce competition for housing credits awarded by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) under the bill. When housing credit awards are often decided by just a few points, these letters can decide the fate of a development. MORE: http://www.housingfinance.com/lihtc/05172013-texas-legislature-eyes-big-changes-to-qap.aspx

The average U.S. retirement age has climbed to 61, up from 57 two decades ago, and it’s likely to age higher, according to Gallup’s Economy and Personal Finance survey. The average non-retired American now plans to retire at 66, up from 60 in 1995, according to the Gallup survey. MORE: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100744474

With housing now in recovery and apartment rents rising, there is new concern that tenants and investors alike will move out of the multi-family space. A huge drop in the number of new apartment buildings started in April only fueled that fear, but it may be unfounded, according to one noted analyst. Multi-family is in the, “calm before the [development] storm,” according to Ivy Zelman, who is known for calling the housing crash and for recently turning bullish on the home builders. MORE: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100746253

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held on May 14, 2013 that the Maine State Housing Authority could withhold automatic annual adjustments on contract rents from landlords participating in housing assistance payments (HAP) contracts where the housing authority determined that further adjustments would result in material differences between contract rents and market rates. One & Ken Valley Housing Group v. Me. State Housing Auth., Docket No. 12-1952 (1st Cir. 2013).     

READ FULL OPINION HERE >> Maine Housing Authority Case

U.S. home-builder confidence in the market for single family homes rose in May amid rising home prices despite increasing building materials costs, an index showed on Wednesday. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market index edged up three points to 44, from a downwardly revised 41 in April. Economists in a Reuters survey were expecting a reading of 43. Any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor. MORE: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100739110

In its April Housing Data Wrap-Up Wells Fargo’s economists summarize the nation’s housing picture:  ”While most of the housing-related headline numbers continue to improve, the underlying details give us some pause.” One headline, the surprising spurt in housing starts in March. MORE: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/05132013_housing_forecasts.asp