According to U.S. News analysis of data from the National Association of REALTORS and the U.S. Census Bureau, the Rochester area ranked number four and the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area ranked number eight for housing affordability out of all 51 metropolitan areas with populations over one million. Click here to learn more.

Several New York State communities will receive needed monies from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to support community development and produce more affordable housing. In some communities, annual funding will also help find homes for individuals and families living on the streets and provide permanent housing for individuals living with HIV/AIDS. Click here to learn more.

In the Northeast, existing-home sales rose 2.7 percent to an annual level of 750,000 in July, 19 percent above a year ago. Click here to learn more.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed a new ethics bill that will replace the Commission on Public Integrity with another enforcement entity called the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE). Under the new law, lawmakers will be required to more accurately disclose any outside income and provide the names of business clients. Click here to learn more.

Increased campaign finance limits officially took effect last week, applying to individuals, legal partnerships and Political Action Committees. Click here to learn more.

As of August 19, the new Mortgage Acts and Practices (Advertising or MAP) Rule imposes requirements on those who provide information about mortgage credit products to consumers by prohibiting misrepresentations during these communications and also imposing recordkeeping requirements. Click here to learn more.

All brokers who are currently involved in and those who join the Broker Involvement Program from now until October 31, 2011 will be entered into a drawing to win a brand new iPad! Click here to learn more.

NYSAR partners with Naylor, LLC., the publisher of New York State REALTOR magazine for the distribution of E-News Weekly. To ensure receipt of your communications and to avoid any difficulty with emails getting caught in your spam filters, please be sure to add Naylor as a safe sender to your contacts. Click here to learn more.

REALTOR Institute 409 – "Equal and Ethical Service for Today's Consumer" – will be offered August 24 and 25 at the Greater Rochester Association of REALTORS office in Rochester, NY. This course fulfills the Code of Ethics training requirement for REALTOR members and the new fair housing training requirement for New York State licensees. Click here for more information or to register.

The NYSAR Fall Business Meetings will be held September 11-14, 2011 at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, NY. Committee meetings, the fourth annual "REALTORS Got Talent" event, the Association Update and more will be featured. Click here for more information or to register.

RPAC of NY will be hosting its fourth annual "REALTORS Got Talent" fundraising event on Monday, September 12, and is seeking acts to perform and items for auction. Click here to learn more.

On behalf of New York's 51,000 REALTORS, RPAC of New York thanks the 2011 major donors for making an investment in RPAC. Click here to learn more.