Uncategorized Archives - Residential Contractor

Report Importance of Private Helping Low Down Payment Borrowers Qualify All 50 States

U.S. Mortgage Insurers, the association representing five of the top six private mortgage insurance (MI) companies in the United States, today released a report on the role of MI in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The report finds that nearly 30 million homeowners have been served by MI for more than 60 years, and breaks down on a state-by-state basis low down payment mortgage lending. The report underscores the historic importance of MI, how MI has helped promote home buying in the U.S., and the significant protection…

Direct homebuyer OfferPad secures $150 million in funding to power growth

There certainly appears to be no shortage of money interested in investing in the burgeoning direct homebuyer segment. Opendoor has been raising money hand over fist at a valuation of more than $1 billion, a newcomer named Perch launched last week with $30 million in funding, plus publicly traded real estate giants Zillow and Redfin both recently expanded into direct buying. The other growing player is OfferPad, which announced this week that it recently secured $150 million in new funding to continue growing its direct buyer business. READ MORE Source: Housing Wire

The Homes of Tomorrow are Here Today at Selah Vista

When you step inside the model home at Selah Vista, the first thing you notice is what seems to be missing: that new home smell. What you sense instead is fresh clean air. No paint fumes, no off-gassing from synthetic carpeting and glue-filled building products, just really clean air. The home’s energy recovery ventilator (ERV) — which is an air exchanger, provides a constant source of fresh air. And that’s just one of the many revolutionary amenities built into the homes in Selah’s new community and Central Washington’s first, healthy,…

Atlanta’s ‘Mews House,’ other intriguing moderns on upcoming MA!

Since its founding in 2007, MA!’s annual festival has trumpeted Atlanta as a surging creative destination where the design economy thrives, and 2018’s version promises to be no different. The expansive Atlanta Design Festival (formerly Design is Human Atlanta) returns to town from May 26 to June 3. A perennial favorite is the tour of modern homes (and offices), which highlights the best of Atlanta’s sustainable, contemporary, and otherwise innovative design. READ MORE Source: Curbed Atlanta

How 3D printing is revolutionizing the housing industry

If you build it, they will come. And if you 3D-print it, they will come faster, cheaper and more sustainably. We live in an era of overpopulation and mass housing shortages. Yet we also live in a time of phenomenal digital innovation. On the one hand we have major crises affecting the health, liberty and happiness of billions of people. But look at the other hand, where we have potential for life-changing technological breakthroughs at a rate never before seen on this planet. READ MORE Source: Tech Crunch

Far South Side senior housing project approved by city

The senior housing development, built by Des Plaines-based MR Properties LLC, is geared toward independent living, according to Colin Regan, a principal at the company and one of the developers leading the project. The seven-story building will be 71 feet and house a total of 134 units. Most of the property will be made up of affordable units with just 30 two-bedroom units priced at market rate. There will also be a community meeting room, fitness center, media room, art room, library, computer lab, beauty salon and laundry room. READ…

Could Higher Productivity Growth Lead to More Affordable Housing?

America’s cities have a problem: There isn’t enough affordably priced housing to go around. Today, city leaders and home-seekers alike are frequently left wondering why builders won’t simply build more housing that is affordable to a wider range of incomes, particularly middle- and lower- income households. For starters, the math doesn’t work. Private developers face an insurmountable gap between the cost of producing new housing and the amount that American households can afford to pay to buy or rent. READ MORE Source: Cities Speak

Five Top Markets for Seniors Housing Investment

It’s no secret that seniors housing is in high demand, with the independent and assisted living subsets the most desirable. But there are also currently major supply issues in the sector, as some markets are beginning to see a lot of new product and, as a result, stagnating occupancy rates. In the fourth quarter of 2017, the national occupancy rate—based on aggregated data from 31 markets—averaged 88.8 percent, down 70 basis points year-over-year, according to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC). READ MORE Source: National Real…

Home Features Buyers Consider Essential

NAHB regularly conducts national polls of American adults and home buyers in order to understand new trends and preferences in the housing market. This is the fourth in a series of posts highlighting poll results, as presented during the 2018 International Builders’ Show in Orlando, FL. See previous posts on tiny homes, driverless cars, and time searching for a home. A recent poll asked prospective first-time and second-time+ home buyers which features they considered essential in their next home. More than 40% of first-time home buyers think the list in…

Foundations pledge new affordable housing initiative

A new charitable initiative wants to help address the nation’s affordable housing crisis, leveraging funding from many of the nation’s biggest foundations to help fill a growing gap. The Funders for Housing and Opportunity (FHO) will make “catalytic investments in activities that ensure stable housing in thriving communities,” pledging to invest $4.9 million to provide more affordable housing over three years. The mobilization comes, in part, from recognition from members that federal and local assistance isn’t fully addressing the issue. READ MORE Source: Curbed