The Obama administration is close to rolling out two initiatives aimed at addressing lingering problems from the financial crisis: A long-delayed effort to cleanse financial firms of their toxic assets, and a $35 billion plan to prop up state programs that help lower-income borrowers get affordable mortgages.
Please click here for the full article.
Housing News
June 20, 2011
June 20, 2011
Massachusetts home sales rose for the second consecutive month, climbing 2 percent in August year-over-year, but condominium sales continued to slump, according to a new report from The Warren Group.
Please click here for the full article.
June 20, 2011
State Updates
State Affordable Housing Budget Uncertain
The Commonwealth’s FY 2010 affordable housing budget is still unclear. In June, the Legislature appropriated $65.3 million for Public Housing Operating Subsidies, $32.5 million (including $2.5 million from MassHousing) for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP), $5 million for Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT), and eliminated funds for the SoftSecond Loan Program.
June 20, 2011
A State guidebook on lobbying can be found here.
Please click here for FAQs for lobbyists.
June 20, 2011
The Treasury Department's Frequently Asked Questions on the Tax Credit Exchange Program.
June 20, 2011
Today, the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual update of state-level data on household income from the American Community Survey (ACS). This data shows no statistically significant change in median household income –- a common barometer of how the typical household is faring –- in Massachusetts between 2007 and 2008. Please click here for more details.
June 20, 2011
Fewer Bay State properties were foreclosed on in August compared to the prior month and August 2008, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.
There were 658 foreclosure deeds recorded in August, down 34.5 percent from 1,005 in August 2008 and 4.4 percent lower than the 688 deeds in July, according to WarrenGroupForeclosures.com. Foreclosure deeds are the final step in the process and represent completed foreclosures. A total of 6,076 foreclosure deeds were recorded in the first eight months of 2009, a 31 percent drop from 8,811 last year.
June 20, 2011
BOSTON – Today, Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office launched three new grant programs totaling $4 million that help provide active jobs for youth at risk, support the rehabilitation of abandoned property and promote financial literacy as a means to prevent foreclosure. The funding for the grants stems from several settlements that were obtained by the Attorney General’s Office as a result of recent enforcement actions against pharmaceutical giants Merck Vioxx, Eli Lilly and Pfizer and against Fremont Investment & Loan.
June 20, 2011
Washington, DC - The U.S. Senate today approved H.R. 3288, the Fiscal Year 2010 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill by a vote of 73 to 25.
Please click here to read the press release.
June 20, 2011
As a result of a shortfall in funding for the Housing Choice Voucher Program for calendar year 2009, an estimated 400 state and local housing agencies across the country will be forced to reduce or eliminate rental assistance for a significant number of the 500,000 low-income families they serve.
Please click here for the full article from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.