Congress Passes Section 202 Reform Bill – December 23, 2010
To view more information from the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, click here.
Governor Patrick Announces $150 Million Acquisition Fund for Expiring Use Properties – November 30, 2009
BOSTON – Monday, November 30, 2009 – Standing with housing and community leaders, Governor Deval Patrick today highlighted a law he signed last week to keep publicly-assisted rental properties affordable and announced the roll-out of a $150 million loan fund leveraged primarily through private dollars to support and secure long-term affordable housing preservation efforts.
“Preserving affordable rental housing keeps our working families strong and our economy strong. By securing and expanding housing opportunities now and over the long-term, we can make a difference in the lives of our neighbors, bolster our communities and maintain Massachusetts on a path toward recovery,” said Governor Patrick.
Please click here to read the full press release.
HUD Releases Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Pre-Notice NOFA – June 1, 2010
Choice Neighborhoods Initiative
HUD has posted a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) Pre-Notice to assist potential applicants prepare for an upcoming Choice Neighborhoods competitive funding process. Choice Neighborhoods will support communities that are using place-based solutions to create neighborhoods of opportunity. Choice Neighborhoods funds are intended to transform distressed public and assisted housing into sustainable, mixed-income housing, to support positive outcomes for families in the development and in the neighborhood, and to transform neighborhoods of concentrated poverty into viable, mixed-income neighborhoods with access to key assets and services.
This NOFA Pre-Notice identifies key program elements and outlines the framework of the competition HUD will use to award Fiscal Year 2010 funding. The actual, forthcoming NOFA will contain the selection criteria for awarding Choice Neighborhoods grants and specific requirements that will apply to selected grantees. Potential applicants are advised to monitor HUD’s website for posting of the NOFA later this summer. In Fiscal Year 2010, approximately $62 million is available for implementation grants and approximately $3 million is available for planning grants. The Administration has requested an additional $250 million in Fiscal Year 2011 funding.
The NOFA Pre-Notice and other information on the Choice Neighborhoods program can be found at HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods webpage (www.hud.gov/cn). For questions on the NOFA Pre-Notice, please contact Ms. Caroline Clayton at Caroline.C.Clayton@hud.gov or (202) 402-5461.
For information on future Choice Neighborhoods funding, please see HUD’s FY2011 Budget webpage (http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/fy2011budget). For questions on the FY 2011 budget or the Choice Neighborhoods legislation, please contact Bernard Fulton at Bernard.b.fulton@hud.gov.
MHP Foreclosure Monitor: Foreclosures Shift to Suburbs – November 10, 2010
BOSTON, Nov. 9, 2010 —The gradual movement of distressed properties away from urban areas has reached a tipping point as there are now more distressed units in the suburbs and rural communities.
In an examination of Warren Group data as of Oct. 1, 2010, Foreclosure Monitor found that distressed units in Boston and 24 Gateway municipalities account for 49 percent of the distressed units in Massachusetts, down from 59 percent as of Oct. 1, 2008 and from 54 percent as of Oct. 1, 2009.
Please click here to read the full Foreclosure Monitor from MHP.
Foreclosure Monitor: Foreclosures rippling into new neighborhoods (MHP) – July 30, 2010
BOSTON, July 29, 2010 — If you’re a regular reader of Foreclosure Monitor, you know that every quarter, we crunch foreclosure data by community, zip code and census tract.
This can help tell us where the problem is moving, what neighborhoods are stabilizing and where support may be needed. Read our latest full report and see our top 20 charts on which neighborhoods are rebounding and which areas are having increases in foreclosures.
If you don’t have time now, here are the headlines:
- This quarter’s analysis of zip codes shows that the problem may be slowing in the hard-hit areas of Lawrence, Boston and other cities, but has rippled into adjoining neighborhoods.
- There are continued signs that the foreclosure problem is on the increase in Worcester County.
- The problem continues to shift away from multi-family homes into single-family homes.
- Foreclosure Monitor is an ongoing effort by MHP to give policy leaders and local officials the latest data on how foreclosures and distressed properties are impacting communities and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Foreclosure Monitor is able to provide this information through the CHAPA/Warren Group distressed property database, with support from the state Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). For updated information, check Foreclosure Monitor out regularly at www.mhp.net/foreclosuremonitor.
CHAPA Releases Gubernatorial Candidates Policy Paper – September 27, 2010
Solving the affordable housing crisis in Massachusettsrequires strong executive leadership that keeps affordable housing a top public policy priority. It also requires multiple strategies that meet a range of needs through both new production and preservation of existing rental and ownership housing for low and moderate income families and individuals, as well as establishing channels to facilitate the production of housing for all income levels.
In this policy paper, CHAPA recommends the following housing policy strategies to gubernatorial candidates:
1. Preserve Existing Private Subsidized Housing
2. Preserve and Revitalize State Public Housing
3. Preserve Chapter 40B
4. Increase the Production of Affordable Housing
5. End Homelessness/Expand Access to Housing
6. Minimize Foreclosures, Revitalize Neighborhoods, Sustain Homeownership
7. Collaborate with Municipalities to Support Housing and Planning Efforts
8. Promote Fair Housing, Accessibility and Choice 20
9. Support Community Development Corporations and Other Non-profits
Download the full document here.