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DORCHESTER - June 11, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Deval Patrick today kicked-off Commonwealth Housing Week by announcing a new compact that creates a goal of providing 10,000 mortgage loans to first-time homebuyers over the next five years. The Home Ownership Compact includes a commitment among lenders to originate a specific number of mortgage loans to first-time home buyers with household incomes below the area median income through the MassHousing and the Massachusetts Housing Partnership programs.

BOSTON - June 10, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- MassHousing announced a major change today in the "Get the Lead Out" lead paint removal loan program that will now allow all qualified households with children under age six to obtain zero-percent financing to remove lead paint regardless of whether the child is lead poisoned or in case management.

BOSTON - June 10, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- MassHousing announced a loan closing today of $1.9 million to preserve affordability for senior citizens at the 30-unit St. Mathieu's Apartments in Fall River.

BOSTON - June 7, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- MassHousing has closed on $2.2 million in loans for the 27-unit Greenway Apartments, a newly constructed affordable housing community in East Boston

BOSTON - June 5, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- More than 10,000 Massachusetts borrowers will receive checks in the mail next week totaling close to $16 million as part of the National Mortgage Settlement, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced today. The total relief exceeds original estimates by more than $1.3 million and is a result of a settlement with the five major lenders over unlawful foreclosures, including robo-signing of documents. Each homeowner approved by the settlement administrator should expect to receive a check in the mail for approximately $1,480 as early as next week.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 3, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Thomas M. Menino in concert with National Grid and NSTAR today announced the new Renew Boston Whole Building Incentive initiative that significantly reduces the cost for energy efficiency improvements in two and three family homes through the Mass Save Home Energy Services Program.This new initiative fulfills the Mayor’s pledge to better reach two key segments of Boston residents: renters and middle income households. Today’s announcement was part of the Boston 500: Challenge to Save Energy, a citywide day of action with the goal to sign-up 500 Bostonians for a Renew Boston no-cost home energy assessment

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 24, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- On May 22nd, City Clerk Maureen Feeney swore in Mayor Menino’s two new appointees to the Boston Fair Housing Commission’s five-member board. In the photo below, Fair Housing Commissioners Mary White and Marlena Richardson (hands raised) are officially sworn in, while accompanied by existing Fair Housing Commissioners, Fair Housing Commission staff, and Dion Irish, the Executive Director of the Office of Civil Rights.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 23, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Thomas M. Menino today announced the members of an advisory panel that will help identify and address Boston’s new housing needs. The Housing Boston 2020 Advisory Panel is comprised of housing professionals who will work with key personnel from the city’s housing agencies to develop strategies to manage Boston’s current and future housing challenges. The group convened for their first meeting yesterday.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 22, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Thomas M. Menino today gave a full progress update on Boston’s innovation center, and revealed the name of the building under construction at 75 Northern Avenue on the South Boston Waterfront. District Hall will play a central role in the social infrastructure of the growing Innovation District and will serve as a home base for entrepreneurs to make connections, build relationships, and convene programs and events.

BOSTON, MA - May 16, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- MassHousing has awarded $104,950 to support sober housing programs in Boston, Worcester and Springfield. The MassHousing grants will come from the Center for Community Recovery Innovations, Inc. (CCRI), a nonprofit subsidiary corporation of MassHousing that supports non-profits that create or preserve affordable sober housing in Massachusetts for recovering substance abusers. CCRI to date has awarded more than $6 million in grants for more than 1,500 units of substance-free housing in more than 35 communities for men, women, families, veterans, the homeless and ex-offender

BOSTON - May 16, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- MassHousing has been named a finalist for two Rosoff Awards presented by The Ad Club to companies with meaningful diversity, mentoring and inclusion programs.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Menino’s Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance was approved today by the Boston City Council in a 9-4 vote. The Ordinance requires large commercial and residential buildings to report and disclose their energy and water usage, and greenhouse gas emissions in order to encourage investment in energy efficiency and further the City’s climate action goals.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 7, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Thomas M. Menino today announced legislation filed with the Boston City Council to update the powers of the Boston Fair Housing Commission (BFHC). A Home Rule Petition (HRP) will add Gender Identity as a protected class, consistent with the 2012 changes made to Massachusetts’ housing discrimination laws, giving the BFHC direct enforcement authority over housing discrimination based on actual or perceived gender identity in the City of Boston. The Home Rule Petition will also strengthen the language that prohibits owner occupants from publicly engaging in housing discrimination through advertisements, or statements.

BOSTON - April 26, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Thousands of Massachusetts residents at risk of foreclosure are receiving notices in the mail alerting them to their eligibility to request a loan modification, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced today. Homeowners with questions can seek immediate assistance through the AG’s HomeCorps program, which is celebrating its one-year anniversary today.

WALTHAM, MA - April 23, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) reported today that for the second straight month a shortage of homes to buy pushed the number of closed home sales down in March. Median home prices went up for the sixth straight month. Both sales and median prices of condominiums were up in March