CRA Newswire

EDA: Investment Made to Develop Natural Disaster Resilient Renewable Energy System in Puerto Rico Opportunity Zone

oday, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $4.1 million grant to Fundación Comunitaria de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, to install a 100 percent renewable energy system to support businesses in the municipality of Culebra, Puerto Rico. The project, to be located in…

EDA: Investment Made to Improve Hardeeville Commerce Park in South Carolina Opportunity Zone

Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.86 million grant to the city of Hardeeville, South Carolina, to make infrastructure improvements to the Hardeeville Commerce Park to increase extreme weather resiliency in the future. The project, to be located in a Tax Cuts and Jobs…

ABA: Bank Economists See Continued Economic Growth Amid Rising Risks

The U.S. economic expansion, which has now tied the longest post-war period of prosperity at 120 months, is likely to continue even as downside risks are growing, according to the Economic Advisory Committee of the American Bankers Association.  The median forecast of 16 chief economists from major North American banks is that economic growth will…

HUD: Secretary Ben Carson to Chair White House Council on Affordable Housing

Today, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Council on Eliminating Barriers to Affordable Housing, and named Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson as its chairperson. The Council will consist of members across eight Federal agencies and engage with State, local, and tribal leaders across the country to identify…

HUD and Census Bureau: New Residential Sales Report Released for May 2019

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau jointly announced the following new residential sales statistics for May 2019: New Home Sales Sales of new single-family houses in May 2019 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 626,000. This is 7.8 percent (±14.7 percent)* below the revised April…

FHFA: House Price Index Up 0.4 Percent in April 2019; Up 5.2 Percent from Last Year

U.S. house prices rose in April, up 0.4 percent from the previous month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index (HPI).  The previously reported 0.1 percent increase for March 2019 remained unchanged.   The FHFA monthly HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to, or guaranteed by,…

FDIC: Agency Hosts Interagency Conference Focusing on Minority Depository Institutions

Announces New MDI Initiatives and Publishes Results of New MDI Study The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) hosted the2019 Interagency Minority Depository Institution and CDFI Bank Conference this week in partnership with the Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The two-day conference, held June 25–26, 2019, includes discussions on…

CDFI Fund: FY 2019 Capital Magnet Fund Funding Round Opens

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) opened today the fiscal year (FY) 2019 funding round for the Capital Magnet Fund.  Through the Capital Magnet Fund, the CDFI Fund competitively awards funds to CDFIs and qualified non-profit housing organizations. These awards can be used to finance affordable housing activities,…

FEMA: Six More Oklahoma Counties Added to Federal Disaster Declaration

Six more counties in Oklahoma have been designated for disaster assistance as part of the federal disaster declaration for damages caused by severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding between May 7 and June 9, 2019. This announcement brings the total number of counties designated for Individual Assistance to 27 with recent additions including Alfalfa, Craig,…

FEMA: President Trump Approves Major Disaster Declaration for Mississippi

 FEMA announced that federal disaster assistance has been made available to the state of Mississippi to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, and flooding beginning on April 13 to 14, 2019. Federal funding is available to the state, tribal, eligible local governments and certain private…