Maryland Continues to Refine its Plan to Help Somerset County Residents Recover from Effects of Hurricane Sandy

Posted on May 17, 2013 by

MAY 23

Crownsville, MD – DHCD continues  to refine its plan for use of $8.6 million in federal funds to help Somerset County residents recover from the effects of Hurricane Sandy.  The department’s draft proposal – discussed in public meetings over the past month and detailed in a May 17 blog post – had allocated $2 million for property purchases on Smith Island but DHCD agreed to limit the allocation to $1 million after receiving feedback from the public and after assessing interest in that part of the program.

The department has also agreed to limit property purchases to Smith Island residents who need to relocate due to medical needs, unsafe housing conditions or other compelling circumstances.   The state will submit its plan to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development by June 10, after first getting further comment from the public. Continue reading →

Posted in Affordable Housing, Community Development | Leave a comment

O’Malley-Brown Administration’s HOPE Initiative Honored for Improving “Access to Justice” for Maryland Homeowners

Posted on May 10, 2013 by

MAY 9

Hope Initiative Award 5.10Cambridge, MD – The HOPE initiative, the O’Malley-Brown administration’s multi-pronged effort to preserve homeownership by helping prevent foreclosures, was awarded the Maryland Access to Justice Commission’s Executive Branch Award for 2013. Reginald Stanfield, director of DHCD’s Office of Community Programs, accepted the award on May 9 during the 2013 meeting of the Maryland Judicial Conference in Cambridge.

The annual Access to Justice awards recognize individuals and programs throughout the state that improve the ability of all Marylanders to have access to the courts so that they can “benefit from the rights, protections, services and opportunities that the law provides.” The Executive Branch Award is given to an outstanding initiative or individual within the executive branch. Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosure Prevention | Leave a comment

Realtors at Workshop Learn the Maryland Mortgage Program is Easy to Work With and a Good Deal for Homebuyers

Posted on May 9, 2013 by

MAY 9

Realtor Workshop 5.7Crownsville, MD – “I want to begin by debunking a myth we keep hearing: the Maryland Mortgage Program is not running out of money,” said Bill Ariano, deputy director of the Community Development Administration on Tuesday. “The Maryland Mortgage Program has never run out of money in the past and it will not in the future.”

Deputy Director Ariano was addressing about two dozen realtors during one of DHCD’s training workshops for the Maryland Mortgage Program, the state’s premier homeownership program.

The popular workshops are just one of the ways DHCD engages in a two-way conversation with its lender and realtor partners to ensure the Maryland Mortgage Program serves their needs and the needs of prospective homebuyers. That feedback enables the agency to improve its services and address those myths and misconceptions. Continue reading →

Posted in First-Time Homebuyers, Homeownership, Maryland Mortgage Program | Leave a comment

Financially Distressed Homeowners Urged to Act Now to Save Their Homes at Foreclosure Prevention Workshop

Posted on May 6, 2013 by

AG PG Workshop 5.3MAY 3

Landover, MD – Financially distressed homeowners were given the opportunity to meet face-to-face with their lenders during a two-day foreclosure prevention workshop hosted by Attorney General Douglas Gansler in collaboration with DHCD.

The free event was part of the ongoing effort of the attorney general and the O’Malley-Brown administration to urge Maryland homeowners who are currently underwater on their mortgages or facing foreclosure to act now to save their homes. Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosure Prevention, National Mortgage Settlement | Leave a comment

Maryland Housing Beat: Median Home Sales Prices Rose 7.8 Percent in March,17 Jurisdictions Saw Increase

Posted on May 6, 2013 by

MAY 6Housing Beat v 2 no 5

Crownsville, MD – Median home sales prices in Maryland grew nearly eight percent in March, marking the second consecutive monthly increase, according to the latest issue of Maryland Housing Beat, DHCD’s monthly profile of the state’s housing economy.

Vol. 2, Issue 5 – reflecting statistical data from March – can be viewed by visiting DHCD’s website at Mdhousing.org or by clicking here to download a PDF version.

Maryland’s median home sales price was $241,413 in March, 23 percent above the national average. Median prices were up in 17 Maryland jurisdictions, led by Allegany, Baltimore City, Caroline, and Dorchester counties, where prices grew by more than 20 percent. Coupled with a continued surge in home sales and tightening inventory, the rise in home sales price was a sign of the state’s strengthening housing market. Continue reading →

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Maryland Receives Federal Funding to Provide Rental Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities

Posted on May 2, 2013 by

MAY 2

Washington – Maryland will receive nearly $11 million to help provide rental assistance to extremely low-income persons with disabilities, many of whom are transitioning out of institutional settings or are at high risk of homelessness. Learn more by clicking here and here.

The $10.97 million will provide five years of rental assistance for 150 units through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Section 811 Project Rental Assistance Demonstration Program. The program will be administered by DHCD in partnership with the Maryland Department of Disabilities and the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Continue reading →

Posted in Homelessness, Persons with Disabilities | Leave a comment

Maryland’s Approach to the Foreclosure Crisis: Helping Thousands of Homeowners Protect Their Investment

Posted on April 30, 2013 by

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Maryland’s focus on helping homeowners save their homes during the national housing crisis has been compared with Virginia’s, a state that took a markedly different approach.

In Maryland, foreclosures more than doubled during the first three months of 2013 compared to the same period last year, giving the state a foreclosure rate of 39.4 percent, one of the highest in the country for that period, according to RealtyTrac, the market research firm. (Click here to see first quarter foreclosure statistics for Maryland.)

In Virginia, foreclosures fell. Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosure Mediation, Foreclosure Prevention | Leave a comment