(RECAP: For the first time in Virginia, people in a low income housing apartment building will be using solar energy for their utilities. Secure Futures, a company in Staunton, has signed a 20-year solar services agreement with the Harrisonburg Housing Authority. According to Secure Futures, the project will save $135,000 in electricity costs in 35 years.)

(RECAP: As a North Carolina congressman, Mel Watt has tried to arm struggling homeowners with a legal “sledgehammer” against lenders and expand the ranks of people eligible to cut their mortgage principal. Those positions help explain why President Barack Obama has nominated Watt, a Democrat, to oversee Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage companies seized by the government in 2008. They also underscore Watt’s uphill climb to gain support from the Senate Republicans he’ll need to win confirmation.)

(RECAP: When Ben Bernanke testifies about the U.S. economy Wednesday, the Federal Reserve chairman's words will be examined for any clues that the Fed might soon taper -- or increase -- its support for the economy. The Fed is pursuing an aggressive program of bond purchases to try to keep long-term interest rates down and encourage borrowing and spending. The Fed has said it plans to continue its $85 billion-a-month in Treasury and mortgage bond purchases until the job market improves substantially. The timing of any policy shift remains hazy.)

(RECAP: A 200-unit foreclosed apartment complex is up for sale by its lender.The Virginia Housing Development Authority is marketing the 14.7-acre Jefferson South of the James development at 1800 Boydton Plank Road in Petersburg for $2.5 million. “The property was developed in the 1970s by Fralin & Waldron as Section 8 housing,” said Mike Stoneman, an asset manager with VHDA. “We didn’t become involved in the property until about 13 years ago, when it was developed as a low income tax credit project.”)

(RECAP: Around the country, local governments are proposing plans to re-develop aging office parks as urban-style, mixed-use complexes, reports the Wall Street Journal, which cited the Innsbrook office park in Henrico as a case in point. “Suburban office buildings are passe,” said Burrell Saunders, a principal with Lyall Design and a prime mover behind the re-development of the Pembroke area of Virginia Beach. “We need to have office space integrated into daily life.”)

(RECAP: Is FHA intentionally targeting condominiums, trying to exclude hundreds or thousands of them around the country from qualifying for financing under its mortgage insurance program? FHA officials tell me absolutely not. But an abrupt new “no-tolerance” move by the agency has large numbers of condo associations across the country wondering whether FHA is looking to dump them. The issue is technical and involves language buried away in condo associations’ core legal documents — their covenants, conditions and restrictions.)

(RECAP: The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1977, has become the most powerful engine of capital formation for developing affordable housing in the United States, according to research conducted by CohnReznick LLP, the nation’s 11th largest accounting, tax, and advisory firm. According to the new study, the CRA’s investment test is largely responsible for motivating U.S. banks to become the largest investors in affordable housing developments. The study also finds that bank capital can be more efficiently deployed by revising CRA regulations.)

(RECAP: The majority of metros covered in Zillow’s Real Estate Market Reports saw home values inch up from March to April, the company reported Tuesday. April marked the sixth consecutive month in which home values appreciated more than 5 percent on a yearly basis. According to Zillow, the last time national home values were at this level was in June 2004. However, this kind of growth will likely be short-lived, said Zillow chief economist Dr. Stan Humphries.)

(RECAP: The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has released "Up-Front Risk Sharing: Ensuring Private Capital Delivers for Consumers," a concept paper suggesting the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to offer risk sharing options to lenders at the “point of sale” rather than on the back end after loans have been delivered to the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs).)

(RECAP: If confirmed by the Senate, Rep. Mel Watt, D-N.C., will replace Ed DeMarco, the current – and controversial – acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. While Democrats have been calling for DeMarco's head for years as he has pushed back on more extreme housing remedies, Republicans have quietly supported DeMarco's decisions. For all the fanfare surrounding the nomination of Watt, there's one small matter standing in the way. Though DeMarco is a holdover from the Bush administration, the current political climate in Congress means he isn't going anywhere anytime soon.)