Five candidates for governor shared a broad stage at a forum held this morning at the Framingham Sheraton, but there wasn’t much daylight between them, with almost all professing a focus on job growth, improving education and cutting red tape.
The average Massachusetts homeowner may be comparable to a visiting uncle on Thanksgiving, around about the time he’s polished off his third portion of mashed potatoes and begins eyeing the couch – no matter how low today’s rates have dropped, they simply cannot tempt them with another heaping portion of refi, seeing as they’re all stuffed to the gills with the 3 percent first mortgage loans they’ve taken out in the past few years.
The lawsuit filed by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley against mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last week charges the federally-backed mortgage giants with violating Massachusetts law by refusing to participate in programs to allow delinquent homeowners to “buy back†their homes at reduced prices.
As a freshman in college searching for his first apartment, Matt Barba took one look at his real estate agent and decided he wanted in.
Attorney General Martha Coakley filed a lawsuit against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in Suffolk Superior Court today, saying the two federally-backed mortgage giants are in violation of Massachusetts law because they refuse to participate in programs which allow delinquent homeowners to “buy back” their homes at reduced prices.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has created a new set of standards for its local Realtor boards, pressuring them to shape up – or ship out, with those who cannot meet the new minimums at risk of losing their charter or being forced to merge with larger organizations.
When drought hits the Serengeti, the wild beasts begin to range farther and farther afield in search of new watering holes. The refi drought that has hit the vast and rolling plains of the mortgage industry appears to be having a similar effect – but it’s not clear how many of the thundering herd of loan originators will survive the trek to greener pastures.
Some men are born community bankers, some men are called to it, and some have it thrust upon them – David Chase, vice president of Commercial Lending for Hampden Bank, falls into the latter group.
Banking is in Bob Lamprey’s blood – even if he didn’t want it to be. “My father was a banker, and people always asked me if I was going to be a banker – and I always said no,” he said.
Jim Nye is the kind of CEO who truly believes in a open-door policy – though that may be a tad redundant in his case, since he’s more likely to be found greeting customers out in the lobby than cooped up in his office anyway.
Less than a year into the launch of its brokerage brand, Berkshire Hathaway seems poised to become a major force in that industry.
The state has introduced a new tax credit program designed to help nonprofit community developers launch more ambitious projects, partly by making them more attractive to corporate donors.
Appraisers might find themselves with new competition if a move by some large brokers gets past the board of the National Association of Realtors next month.
Local real estate powerhouse RE/MAX Prestige has broken away from its former franchisor and re-branded itself as the independent brokerage Laer Realty Partners.
A new case before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court could bring landlords some much-needed clarity on the issue of handling tenants who are also medical marijuana patients – although property owners may not be pleased with the results.
REALTORs are people persons, which can mean they have a tough time when it comes to tech. John Lynch spotted a gap in the market, founding DwellAgent to help make it easier for agents to enhance their web presence. Together, he and his partner Edward Johnston launched Dwell360, a Newton-based boutique brokerage which leverages the technology.
A new report from CoreLogic shows several positive trends in the housing market, including increases in construction employment and home improvement spending.
After a few slow years, some signs of a potential revival in the second-home market are now blooming in the Bay State’s vacation areas.
The inventory situation in the greater Boston market is so dire it’s driven many buyers (and their agents) to despair. But at least one segment of the local housing industry may be singing a happy tune – things are finally looking up for builders, with the latest figures showing a rise in new home construction in the Bay State.
