Regional Briefs
Home Sales Down In January
News from the housing market still isn't getting any better. The Massachusetts Association of Realtors reports that January sales of single-family homes were down 28 percent from the same time last year.
The median price of single-family homes was also down 5.6 percent. Meanwhile, condominium sales fell 34 percent, but the median price for condos was up 3.5 percent.
The total number of single-family homes sold in January was 1,984, which represented a month-to-month drop of 22 percent from December. The median price for houses was down just 0.6 percent from December, to $321,000.
Area Lawyers Honored For Public Service
The Massachusetts Bar Association will honor three Central Massachusetts lawyers at its Access to Justice Awards Luncheon.
The event is dedicated to the late Nancy King, who was the executive director of South Middlesex Legal Services in Framingham. She will also receive the Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously.
Worcester attorney Thomas A. Manning will receive the Pro Bono Publico Award for his work in private practice and his efforts as an advocate for the poor and homeless. Manning created a "Lawyer for the Day" program in Worcester Probate and Family Court, which provides help for litigants representing themselves.
Faye Rachlin, of the Legal Assistance Corp. of Central Massachusetts in Worcester, will receive the Legal Services Award for her 22 years of work advocating for poor clients, including helping tenants with mental illness and addiction get medical help.
Altogether, the MBA will honor six lawyers from around the state at the March 6 event.
Central Mass Groups Get Money For History, Flowers
Three Central Massachusetts cultural organizations have received grants totaling more than $480,000 from the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund.
The fund gave $280,000 to the John Woodman Higgins Armory Inc. in Worcester, $106,800 to the Fitchburg Historical Society and $100,000 to the New England Wild Flower Society Inc. in Framingham.
Altogether, the fund, which is administered by MassDevelopment and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, distributed nearly $5.6 million to nonprofit organizations around the state. The funded projects are designed to increase tourism, create jobs and expand arts and cultural activities.
Report: Mass. Economy Stagnant
The Massachusetts economy is stagnant, according to an economic ranking of all 50 states by the American Legislative Exchange Council.
Massachusetts came in at 26 out of 50 in the ranking, "thanks to a mix of good and bad economic policies," according to the council. The ALEC report says the state's high business and property taxes, inheritance tax, "excessively high minimum wage and forced unionism" contributed to its "lackluster ranking." Utah is the number one state in the ALEC ranking. Vermont came in dead last.
On the good side, the report notes that the state has relatively low personal and sales taxes, low workers' compensation costs and a solid tort liability system.
The report concludes that states that keep taxes and government spending low reap the greatest economic results, while states that tax and spend heavily watch as their businesses and residents flee to more competitive states.
The council compiled the ranking in a report entitled "Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index." The report was written by economist Arthur Laffer and Stephen Moore of the Wall Street Journal.
January Home Foreclosures More Than Double
The 799 foreclosure deeds filed in Massachusetts last month represented a 128 percent increase compared to January 2007, according to The Warren Group, Boston-based publisher of Banker & Tradesman.
The nearly 800 deeds filed last month marks the highest number of deeds filed in a single month since August 2007, when 1,018 foreclosure deeds were filed, according to The Warren Group. There were 350 deeds filed in January 2007.
Along with formal foreclosure deeds, the number of auction announcements in January also rose, from 1,008 in January 2007 to 1,792 last month, a 77.8 percent increase. Last month's number of auction announcements is the highest number recorded by The Warren Group since they began tracking the stat in 2005.
Completing the trifecta of depressing foreclosure data, the number of petitions to foreclose filed in December, the last month for which data is available, rose 28 percent, to 2,729. There were 2,133 petitions filed in December 2006. Petitions to foreclose are the first step in the foreclosure process, and do not always end in actual foreclosure.
CPAs Encourage Debt Payment, Savings
The Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants says people should use their tax refunds to pay down debt or sock it away for the future.
According to the MSCPA, paying off credit cards, student loans and any other debts should be the top priority for anyone receiving a tax refund. After that, the society recommends saving for the future, saving for retirement and creating an emergency account.
Finally, the society says folks who do not have any high-interest debt, and follow a regular savings plan can spend their refunds.
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