Housing Headlines

NEW BEDFORD --- Back in May, the Standard-Times did a report on the number of illegal apartments in the city after city inspectors ordered a woman who was trying to sell her home to destroy an illegal basement apartment. Real estate experts in the story did not dispute the existence of these illegal apartments but say some of them already existed when purchased by current owners. Real estate experts estimate that 30 to 40 percent of the homes in the city have some unpermitted work, much of it finished basements or second kitches.

FALL RIVER --- In an editorial published July 15, the Fall River Herald News urged the housing authority and state to go back to its original plan of replacing the demolished Watuppa 100-unit public housing site with 26 affordable homeownership units rather than the 50-unit rental/11 homeownership unit proposal, now on the table, reasoning that the neighborhood is reboundng and the smaller plan is what residents want.

MILTON --- A bill has been filed with the legislature authorizing the town of Milton to aqcuire some land next to some land it owns and then convey both pieces to Carrick Realty, which has been seeking a 40B permit from the town to develop an abutting parcel known as the Hendries site into a mixed-use development.

WORCESTER --- A lingering symptom of the foreclosure crisis are so-called 'zombie' properties, which means homes that have been abandoned for years. Worcester Telegram reporter Alli Knothe takes a look at this problem, given that 33 percent of the homes in foreclosure in Worcester County are abandoned, according to RealtyTrac.

VINEYARD HAVEN --- With questions raning from the number of units to the building's box-like look to the lack of green space, the Martha's Vineyard Commission spent 90 minutes questioning housing trust officials about their plans to replace a distressed home next to the Stop & Shop with a $1.2 million six-unit affordable apartment building that would include three handicapped units.

BOSTON --- The Globe is reporting that more and more homebuyers are leaning toward condos these days, with statwide sales up nine percent in the first five months of 2014 while sinlge-family home sales have declined by four percent. Prices for condos have risen 13 percent while single-family home prices have gone up six percent. This has resulted in a narrowing price gap - $320,000 for a median-priced condo and $340,000 for a house.