March 12, 2010
Home Energy
Burning wood is civilization’s oldest form of generating energy. In its modern incarnation, which includes multi-million-dollar pollution controls, it’s seen as one of the best sources for generating reliable, home-grown electricity. But community and environmental activists are raising questions about the wisdom of treating wood energy as green power.
March 12, 2010
Home Tech & Building
WASHINGTON, March 11—Come April, it may be hard to find a home improvement contractor to work on your house if it was built before 1978. New lead-based paint rules from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) governing contractors who work in older homes go into effect April 22. Most contractors aren’t ready to comply, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) warns.
March 11, 2010
Housing Market
Mar. 5—New homes pump far more into the economy in tax revenue and jobs than they cost in added spending by local governments and school districts, says a study for the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Harrisburg.
March 11, 2010
Community Spotlight
Affordable home prices, tax credits for homebuyers, historically low interest rates, and a large number of distressed properties prompted many first-time homebuyers to enter the California housing market in 2009.
March 11, 2010
Home Legislation & Policy
WASHINGTON—The head of the Federal Housing Administration is warning that boosting the minimum down payment borrowers must provide to qualify for home loans backed by the agency could threaten the housing market. FHA commissioner David Stevens said at a House hearing Thursday that his agency would insure 300,000 fewer loans per year if the mandatory down payment were hiked from the current level of 3.5% to 5%.
March 11, 2010
Housing Market
WASHINGTON—Mortgage rates held below the 5% threshold for the second straight week, a report said Thursday, weeks before a government program that has been keeping rates low is scheduled to expire.
March 10, 2010
Home Energy
Three out of four consumers are concerned by energy and climate change issues, but nearly two thirds say that using less energy is not the answer to reducing reliance on fossil fuels or foreign energy supply, according to global research by Accenture.
March 10, 2010
Home Tech & Building
National homebuilder KB Home says it’s going to start offering homebuyers the option to pre-wire their new home with electric vehicle charging stations. The new option is designed to ease the future installation of a station to charge an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle conveniently at home.
March 9, 2010
Home Energy
Main’s state-administered Efficiency Maine weatherization program has $9 million in federal funding, which it plans to use to fund weatherization projects for up to 4,000 homeowners.
March 9, 2010
Home Energy
How green can a house get? A Bay State couple lives in a highly energy-efficient home that creates two-and-a-half times more power than it needs. Tina Clarke and Doug Stephens built the three-bedroom house for just $180,000.
