Here is the article posted by the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” Last month, we were reminded of Dr. King’s insight once again, as President Obama signed legislation repealing “Don’t ask, don’t tell” into law. It was a moment, the President noted, “more than two centuries in the making.” I’m proud that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is part of that commitment, as we work to make inclusivity and diversity cornerstones of America’s housing policy.

Indeed, from conducting the first-ever national study of LGBT housing discrimination to instructing our staff to be vigilant about whether any LGBT-based housing discrimination complaints can be pursued through the Fair Housing Act, we’ve worked to ensure our core housing programs are open to all. That’s why we recently announced a new rule ensuring LGBT individuals and couples can benefit from HUD programs.  Read the original article by Shaun Donovan.

Changes in sales price data reflect changes in the distribution of houses by region, size, etc., as well as changes in the prices of houses with identical characteristics. It takes four months to establish a trend of new home purchases.

Sales of new single family homes fell 11.3% to an annual pace of 355,000 units. This was much lower than consensus estimates of 440,000 annual sales and 45,000 less than the October print of 400,000, which was revised for the worse from 430,000. This was the slowest pace of new home sales in 7 months and the worst month over month decline since January 2009.