Housing Headlines

Across Massachusetts, 35 percent of all homebuyers were first-time buyers in 2016, the lowest share by first-time buyers since 2003 according to numbers released Thursday by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. In 2015, 41 percent of all Massachusettts buyers were first-time homebuyers.

QUINCY --- Saying that residents are feeling like they are "under assault," City Councilor Brian Palmucci has introduced a bill calling for a one-year freeze on multi-family developments in some residential areas.

HYANNIS --- Changes both big and small have been happening at the downtown Hyannis homeless shelter, which has been managed for the last three months by Catholic Social Services. Formerly managed by the Housing Assistance Corp. and now called St. Joseph's, changes include a fence to give residents privacy and a requirement that residents save 30 percent of their income while living at the shelter.

BOSTON --- The Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance (MAHA) did something special for the latest graduates of its homebuyer education program, bringing in Mayor Marty Walsh to present them with certificates and to talk about why homebuyer education is so critical to being a successful first-time buyer.

CONCORD --- The town's Finance Committee is questioning whether the town should contribute $3 million in local funds to help a developer build 83 affordable assited living units on 12 acres of town land near the MCI-Concord prison

BEVERLY --- Concerned that current zoning would allow a large tract of land called Folly Hill to be developed into over 700 units, the Planing Board has recommended a zoning change that would increase lot size, reduce the number of units to 172 and allow only single-family homes. However, the land's owner - the Reeve family - could file plans that would hold the old zoning in place for eight years.