Housing Headlines

BOSTON --- Banker & Tradesman reporter Scott Van Voorhis reports that a new study set to be released today finds that Massachusetts is last in the nation in the percentage of homes owned by blacks and Hispanics (subscription required).

BOSTON --- Nuestra Comunidad Executive Director David Price puts forth a thoughtful seven-part recipe on how to increase homeownership opportunities for the middle class in Boston. Among his suggestions are identify the income range to be supported and and create city and state subsidies to write down purhcase prices to make homeownreship attainable.

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Last month, national housing expert Alan Mallach posted an analysis on the housing recovery and sees some major problems behind the rosy numbers, such as rising rents and a slower recovery in many urban neighborhoods.

PROVINCETOWN --- The town recently held a housing summit designed to address issues raised in the update of its 2006 housing needs study. The new study showed that there have been 376 permits issued for condos since 2007 and that many were small multi-family units that have been converted to second homes. In addition, the percentage of households paying more than 35 percent of their income for housing has risen from 44 to 59 percent.

ATTLEBORO --- A survey of local real estate listings and realtors indicates that demand for rental housing is high, with most two-bedroom apartments renting for more than $1,000 per month.

CONCORD --- While the Concord Housing Development Corporation (CHDC) considers a dozen proposals for affordable housing at Junction Village in West Concord, a number of residents have come forward to say they would oppose a large-scale project there.