Reporting Red Mortgage giant, Freddie Mac, reported a narrower second quarter loss of $4.7 billion. In order to make up for the loss, Freddie has asked the Treasury Department for an additional $1.8 billion infusion of aid.
Rail=LaHood’s Livability Prediction During a forum held by Building America’s Future today, Secretary of Transportation LaHood was more optimistic than ever on the future of nationwide high-speed rail. “We don’t know where the lines will fall on a map or where the money will come from, but I promise you in less time that it took to create our interstates, [the country] will have high-speed rail,” said Secretary Ray LaHood. If all goes as planned, LaHood predicted 85% of the country would be connected via high-speed rail in 25 years.
Ramping up PACE-Gate We last reported tiny but strong Babylon, NY was threatening to sue the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to save the PACE retrofitting financing program, which has resulted in a healthier job market along with a more energy efficient community. The 200,000 person town has geared up for the fight of their lives by officially filing paperwork suing FHFA this week. In order to show how effective the PACE program has been, and why Babylon thinks this is a cause worth fighting for, the video above was been produced by On Earth Magazine. FHFA released a statement in July in response to all the hoopla.
Rentals – A Hot Commodity According to the Boston Globe, the Northeast region’s rental market has tightened over the past several months due to a surge in foreclosures. Vacancy rates have fallen 6.2% and average asking rents have increased 1.2% in the Greater Boston region, both record lows and highs in 18 months.