Regional Briefs
Consensus: 2007 Bad Year For Mass. Home Sales
Depending on whom you believe, 2007 total home sales in Massachusetts were either bad, or appallingly bad, according to reports issued by both the Massachusetts Association of Realtors in Waltham and The Warren Group, Boston-based publishers of Banker & Tradesman.
The MAR, which only lists sales that involved a registered Realtor, reported a 4.3 percent decline in single-family home sales in 2007 compared to 2006. The Warren Group reported an 8.4 percent decline year-over-year.
The Warren Group reported 50,435 single-family home sales in 2007, while the MAR said 41,510 homes were sold.
In an effort to put a positive spin on the numbers, the MAR said 2007 finished as the eight best year on record for residential home sales. The Warren Group pointed out that sales were at their lowest since 1992.
Slumping sales led to more days on the market on average for both single-family homes and condominiums, the MAR said. Single-family homes stayed on the market for 139 days in 2007, while condos stayed for 135 days, up from 122 and 116 days, respectively, in 2006.
In Worcester County, 6,604 single-family homes were sold in 2007, down 13 percent from 2006, according to The Warren Group.
In Defense Of The Commonwealth
U.S. Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security contracts and salaries generated $14.7 billion in direct and indirect spending in Massachusetts in 2005, according to a new study.
The study was conducted by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute for MassDevelopment and the state Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.
Nationally, the commonwealth ranks eighth highest among states in DoD and DHS defense contract awards, the study found.
Massachusetts was first in the nation in defense-related Small Business Technology Transfer awards and second in Small Business Innovation Research awards, which the housing and economic development office said was an indicator of the state's technology and innovation leadership.
In addition to the inflow of cash, the defense sector also directly employed 32,240 workers in the state and supported an additional 39,187 jobs.
All told, the defense industry accounts for more than 4.5 percent of the state's GDP, according to the study.
From QCC To Nichols In Four Years
A new program will allow students who enroll in Quinsigamond Community College's business program to be admitted to Nichols College in Dudley automatically.
The program is called the Associate's to Bachelor's Business Program, and it is scheduled to begin in the fall. Students who enroll in the program at Quinsig will earn an associate's degree in business there, complete a third year of coursework at QCC, and complete the program with a bachelor's after the fourth year at Nichols.
QCC president Gail E. Carberry and Nichols president Debra Townsley signed the agreement Jan. 30.
Nichols claims that one in 10 of its alumni is a President or CEO of a company or owns his or her own business. The college also says that 96 percent of its class of 2006 was employed within 6 months of graduation, at an average salary of $40,000.
Fed. Research Funding Skips Central Mass.
The $4.3 million in National Science Foundation funding for research in Massachusetts will go to universities and scientists in every region of the state but the Worcester region.
The funding was announced by U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.
The largest allotment, $712,802, will go to Harvard University. The smallest, $145,900, will go to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.
In between are studies, projects and research in Woburn, Boston College, Brandeis University, MIT, Northeastern University, Tufts University and UMass Amherst.
The NSF funds 20 percent of all federally funded research done by colleges and universities.
In a statement, Kennedy said he was "thrilled that our first-rate universities and research institutes have been awarded this critical funding" so they can be "a driving force in our new global economy."
Habitat Affiliates Merge
Habitat for Humanity affiliates covering Greater Worcester and the MetroWest area have merged.
The two chapters, which have been working toward the merger for the past year, say combining their efforts will mean greater efficiency. The new MetroWest/Greater Worcester Habitat affiliate will cover 29 cities and towns from Sturbridge to Natick.
Habitat for Humanity affiliates are nonprofit groups that depend on volunteers. They develop and sell homes to low-income families at affordable prices in exchange for sweat equity, and provide no-interest loans. The merged affiliates have developed 25 affordable homes since 1985.
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