By Paul Tuthill
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-845474.mp3
Springfield MA – The housing market in Massachusetts is still in a slump as witness by Tuesday's report that May home sales in the state were the lowest for that month in twenty years. There's hope that an incentive program can help turn things around, at least in some of the state's struggling cities....WAMC's Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports...
Not every person who buys a home in the city of Springfield is going to get a personal welcome from the mayor..a fruit basket from a state agency..or flowers from their mortgage lender.
But Carrie Guess was singled out because she is the first person to purchase a home in Springfield through an incentive program , that started a month ago, called Buy Springfield Now. Guess said she'd been saving up for a home for a while, and the program was enough to finally get her to take the plunge into home ownership.
Guess received a discount on her closing costs, help with financing through the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency, and her employer - BayState Health has program that helped cover her down payment. There are other perks, including discounts at local stores and free tickets to local attractions.
Springfield's mayor Domenic Sarno called the program a great public-private partnership. The private concerns are putting up the money, but the mayor says the program would not work unless city hall is willing to support it.
Rocco Leone of the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency says there are similar home buyer incentive programs in Brockton and Worcester. The one in Worcester started about a year ago and 130 home buyers have taken advantage of it. Leone says the objective is to help revitalize urban areas.
Don Thompson, past president of the Pioneer Valley Realtors Association, says the real estate market is driven by first time home buyers, and the Buy Springfield Now program has a lot in it for first time buyers.
Officials say three people have purchased homes in Springfield through the month old program so far.