INDUSTRY NEWS & NOTES
NEW BUILDING ENERGY
LABEL TO LAUNCH IN JUNE
A new consumer label that would grade all commercial buildings according to their energy efficiency is
being developed by the American Society of Heating,
Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers
(ASHRAE). Known for its development of commercial
building code standards, the society’s label would measure both the design efficiency and operational performance of buildings, similar to the government’s Energy
Star program. ASHRAE said it would eventually like to
expand the label to include property types not covered
by Energy Star. If that effort is successful, ASHRE indicated it would push for an international expansion.
For more information visit www.ashrae.org.
1 Nevada = 15,783 1 in 70
TOP 10 STATES WITH FORECLOSURE
FILINGS BY RATE, FEBRUARY 2009
TOTAL
2 Arizona
3 California
1 in 147
1 in 165
= 18,119
= 80,775
4 Florida
FILINGS
5 Idaho
6 Michigan
7 Illinois
1 in 358
1 in 360
1 in 369
1 in 188
= 46,391
= 1,764
= 12,564
= 14, 218
8 Georgia
1 in 389
= 10,185
9 Oregon
1 in 446
= 3,608
10 Ohio
NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS FORECLOSED
1 in 451
SOURCE: REALTYTRAC
= 11,231
Foreclosures
Continue to Rise
Nearly 291,000 homes in the United
States received at least one foreclo-sure-related notice in February, up
6 percent from the previous month,
according to a Realty Trac report in
March. The number of filings are up
30 percent from the same period in
2008, despite temporary halts on new
foreclosures by several banks, and
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Nevada continued to have the highest foreclosure rate with one in every
70 homes, according to the data.
The Realty Trac report found that
more than 74,000 properties were
repossessed by lenders in February.
To view the report
visit www.realtytrac.com.
WASHINGTON STATE SENATE PASSES ENERGY-EFFICIENCY BILL
The Washington senate recently approved a measure requiring new buildings and major retrofits to use less energy.
The goal is to reduce the amount of overall energy consumption by 70 percent by 2031. The bill passed the senate
with a 42-5 vote. The measure requires utilities to track how much energy large commercial and public buildings use.
