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BOSTON - April 22, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- MassHousing announced a loan closing today of $26.5 million to preserve affordability for senior citizens at the 236-unit Sherwood Village apartment community in Natick. As a condition of the loan, Fairway Estates Limited Partnership, an affiliate of Cornerstone Corporation, which owns Sherwood Village, will seek to extend its federal Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract and the affordability on 235 apartments for the longest term possible - typically 20 years - when the current HAP contract expires in February 2014.

WALTHAM, MA - April 18, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) reported today that both the REALTOR® Market Confidence Index (RMCI) and the REALTOR® Price Confidence Index (RPCI) hit all time highs in March. With the number of homes for sale declining, REALTOR®-members who responded to the survey said they are seeing an increase in multiple-bid offers, but that single-bid offers are still just as common

BOSTON - April 12, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- In an effort to increase the rehabilitation of distressed and abandoned properties in Massachusetts, Attorney General Martha Coakley today opened the application period for a $5 million grant program. Utilizing funds recovered through the nationwide state-federal settlement over unlawful foreclosures, the Abandoned Housing Initiative Receivership Fund (AHI Fund) will assist local communities in mitigating the impacts of the foreclosure crisis.

Springfield, MA - April 11, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- A confidential survey link is up on the city’s website seeking input from residents who have experienced housing discrimination. The link to the survey is: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PP5KC63 and residents can access it by going to the city’s website home page. In addition, a series of listening sessions will be taking place in the coming weeks for residents to tell the city about the barriers to fair housing they might have encountered

WALTHAM, MA - April 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) reported today that March pending home sales were positive for the 22nd time out of the past 23 months compared to the year before. Condominium pending sales were also up. Pending sales figures (also called homes under agreement) are a leading indicator of actual housing sales in Massachusetts for the following 2-3 months.

BOSTON - April 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- A former employee of the New Bedford Housing Authority (NBHA) has pleaded guilty and been sentenced in connection with stealing $13,800 from the agency by submitting fraudulent expense reimbursements, Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office announced today. The former employee also pleaded guilty in connection with making more than $30,000 in unauthorized credit card charges, stealing more than $50,000 from a longtime friend, and possessing cocaine.

BOSTON, MA - April 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- MassHousing announced $18 million in loan closings today for the Voke Lofts in Worcester, which will transform the vacant former Worcester Vocational and Technical School into 84 units of mixed-income housing

BOSTON - April 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- A Weston real estate developer and entrepreneur who was apprehended in Cyprus nearly eight months after he was indicted on federal criminal charges was convicted yesterday of wire fraud in connection with his defrauding several individuals in 2008.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- A confidential survey link is up on the city’s website seeking input from residents who have experienced housing discrimination. The link to the survey is: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PP5KC63 and residents can access it by going to the city’s website home page. In addition, a series of listening sessions will be taking place in the coming weeks for residents to tell the city about the barriers to fair housing they might have encountered.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 4, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The municipal building that houses the Uphams Corner Branch of the Boston Public Library at 500 Columbia Road in Dorchester will undergo building improvements in May. The building improvements necessitate a temporary closure of the branch while work takes place. The temporary closure period will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 25, 2013. Construction will begin on Tuesday, May 28, and is expected to be completed in September 2013

BOSTON - April 4, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- MassHousing Executive Director Thomas R. Gleason announced the appointments today of five individuals to senior management positions. Timothy Sullivan, of Brookline, was named Deputy Director for Finance and Rental Programs. Monte Stanford, of Saugus, has assumed the position of Director of Rental Lending.

Springfield, MA - April 5, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Let the bidding begin! Mayor Domenic J. Sarno announced today that the City of Springfield will be holding their first real estate auction of 2013 on Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 6:00 p.m., in City Hall, 36 Court Street, Springfield, MA. With 29 City owned parcels slated for the auction block, this auction boasts to be one of the largest property portfolios the City has released for sale by public auction. Registration for individuals wishing to bid will open one hour prior to the start of the auction, at 5:00 p.m. Auction participation requires bidders to come prepared with a certified or bank check, made out to themselves, in the amount of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) per property

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 3, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- To mark National Community Development week, Mayor Thomas M. Menino today hosted a roundtable discussion with United States Senator Elizabeth Warren and Regional Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Barbara Fields. The focus of the discussion was to demonstrate the real, positive effects that Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) have had on strengthening Boston’s neighborhoods, and especially those neighborhoods’ women-owned businesses.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 1, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Boston Public Library will host a public program on Wednesday, April 10, at 6 p.m. to update library users and interested residents on the early phases of the Johnson Building Improvement Project. The program will take place in Rabb Lecture Hall, located on the concourse level of the Johnson Building at 700 Boylston Street. Amy E. Ryan, president of Boston Public Library; Michael R. Colford, director of library services; and architect William L. Rawn will lead the April 10 program.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 1, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Rep. Mike Capuano today praised the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) for taking additional steps to help homeowners who are struggling to keep current on their mortgages with its new Streamlined Modification Initiative. This program applies to loans owned or guaranteed by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Homeowners who are at least 90 days behind on their mortgage will automatically be given the opportunity to modify their loan.