Suburbanites Satisfied with Their Communities
People who live in suburbs are significantly more satisfied with their communities than residents of cities, small towns and rural areas, according to a new Pew Research Center study. Overall, 42 percent of suburban residents give their communities high marks on these eight characteristics: job opportunities; cost of living; a place to raise children; recreational [...]
A Talent Drain From Banks
Today I was with one of the key executives of a national bank discussing his experience with the “bailout” process. He was generally disgusted that the congress was using this event to shred the leadership of the Banks in such a public manner. He said it felt like the McCarthy hearings in the 1950s. His [...]
Jobs Key to Housing Recovery: Trulia
Despite the recession, more than three-fourths (76 percent) of Americans consider homeownership part of achieving the American Dream, according to the latest Trulia American Dream survey of consumer confidence. More than half of those surveyed (53 percent) believe the single most important thing President Obama can do to stabilize housing is to create jobs and [...]
Mortgage Fees On the Rise
According to Kiplinger’s Magazine, mortgages purchased from banks and brokers by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be getting a bit more expensive…again. Beginning next month a new series of fee increases, aimed at accounting for default risks, will begin to affect a large number of home buyers and mortgage refinancers. Borrowers with a credit [...]
City Realty Group, Inc. Slapped with Discrimination Complaint
Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office has filed a housing discrimination complaint against City Realty Group, Inc. (“City Realty”), a Brighton-based real estate company, and one of its agents for allegedly refusing to rent an apartment to a tester from the Boston Fair Housing Commission who represented that she was looking for an apartment for herself [...]
Treasury Details ‘Making Home Affordable’ Plan
The U.S. Treasury Department today announced new guidelines that will enable loan servicers to begin modifying eligible mortgages under the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan that President Obama unveiled two weeks ago. The rules will implement financial incentives for mortgage lenders to modify existing first mortgages and set standard industry practice for modifications. Treasury Secretary [...]
Mortgage Delinquencies Rise, More Homeowners Under Water
The mortgage loan delinquency rate — the percentage of borrowers who are 60 days or more past due on making a payment — hit a national average high of 4.58 percent for the fourth quarter of 2008, according to Transunion.com. Traditionally seen as a precursor to foreclosures, this statistic is up from 3.96 percent in [...]
Boston ranks 11th on EPA list of energy-efficient buildings
Boston ranks 11th among U.S. cities with the most buildings rated as “highly energy efficient” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under its Energy Star program. Boston had 79 Energy Star-qualified buildings boasting roughly 25 million square feet of space as of 2008, EPA said. Those facilities have resulted in roughly $34.5 million in energy-cost [...]
January New-Home Sales Hit Record Low
Sales of new single-family homes in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 309,000, 10.2 percent below the December rate of 344,000 and 48.2 percent below the 597,000 units estimated in January 2008, the U.S. Commerce Department reported this morning. This is the slowest sales pace on record dating back to 1963. The [...]
