Better loans for green building?, an article from The Denver Post, reports that people who buy energy-efficient homes or who upgrade existing ones could be rewarded with lower-interest loans under legislation from Colorado congressman Rep. Ed Perlmutter.  He unveiled a bill that he hopes will create a market for green buildings by offering incentives to lenders.  Perlmutter said, "The federal government, I think, needs to push" to ramp up energy-efficient construction.  According to Perlmutter, the bill would give Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a way to help reach their government mandate of serving low- and moderate-income buyers.  Federal rules require that 55% of the loans the agencies handle must serve those customers.  Under his bill, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would gain as much as a 25% credit toward that federal goal if they repurchase mortgages on green buildings. 
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_9019157

Congress Hammers Out Breaks for Homeowners, an article from The Wall Street Journal Online, reports that Congress has gone from considering ways to collect more taxes from homeowners and individual real-estate investors, to coming up with new tax breaks for home buyers.  Congress is now moving toward enacting new tax credits for home buyers, and tax breaks for millions of homeowners who don't currently benefit from the ability to write off property taxes.  Linda Goold, tax counsel for the National Association of Realtors said of the rush by Congress to aid homeowners and the real-estate industry, "The world has changed dramatically."  In order to claim any tax benefits in the current proposals, you must live in the house you are claiming them for.  None of the provisions likely to become law are written to help the small-time investor in a single-family home.  Also, the tax breaks under discussion are temporary, so lawmakers can advertise them as being available "for a limited time only." 
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120891638382936977.html?mod=RealEstateMain_1

Additional articles that you may find of interest:

Springs runs, rides, hikes to the summit
http://www.gazette.com/articles/springs_35556___article.html/colorado_strauss.html

Developer stakes claim
http://www.csbj.com/story.cfm?ID=19800

No help for 70% of subprime borrowers
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/22/real_estate/no_help_for_most_borrowers/index.htm?postversion=2008042217

Existing home sales fell 2 percent in March
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24255305/

Should The FHA Own Part Of Your Home?
http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20080423_millerreport.htm

Realty Viewpoint: As Home Sales Sink, Affordable Markets Swim,Tread Water
http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20080423_realtyviewpoint.htm