JACKSON — Gov. Haley Barbour says he prefers strengthening construction along Mississippi’s coastal counties to lower insurance rates rather than subsidizing insurance policies through the wind pool program.
“Since Katrina I have emphasized the need to build back stronger than before,” Barbour said. “Working with the insurance commissioner, we’re putting $20 million into helping people upgrade [...] [...]
JACKSON — Gov. Haley Barbour has vetoed a wind pool bill because he says it is unnecessary.
The bill did not include any money.
It would’ve added two years to a plan that diverted $20 million in insurance premium tax revenues into the Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association Reinsurance Assistance Fund, commonly called the wind pool.
The original diversion [...] [...]
The Feb. 2010 Mortgage Monitor report, released by Lender Processing Services Inc., shows that while delinquency rates in the U.S. have risen to historic highs, the pace of deterioration has slowed. However, the nation’s housing market remains far from a full recovery, and Mississippi has the third-highest non-current loans in the nation.
Based on data extrapolated [...] [...]
LOS ANGELES — The National Association of Home Builders says its housing market index slipped in March, as harsh winter weather and competition from foreclosed properties hurt builders’ sales prospects.
The Washington-based trade association said Monday its index slipped two points to 15, back to its January level.
Readings below 50 indicate negative sentiment about the market. [...] [...]
MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST — The Mississippi Development Authority Disaster Recovery Division (MDA DRD) and the Gulf Coast Housing Resource Centers have launched an online listing of all available affordable rental units provided through MDA’s Small Rental Assistance Program (SRAP), Public Housing Assistance and Long Term Workforce Housing (LTWH) programs.
“This initiative called, the Housing Entry and [...] [...]
GULFPORT — A government report suggests the Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH) should have gotten appraisals on the two beachfront parcels that it sold in 2004 to Gulfport businessman and former Gulfport mayor Brent Warr.
The Feb. 22 report by the Inspector General’s Office of the U.S. Department of Defense says the Retirement Home probably could [...] [...]
JACKSON — A federal lawsuit that claims former Rankin County Supervisor Ken Martin and others reneged on a deal to support the development of a new subdivision has been scheduled for trial in January 2011.
Martin denied the allegations in court records, saying he acted in good faith.
Diamond Fields LLC sued [...] [...]
MIAMI — Home sales in the South posted an annual increase of 8 percent in January as buyers grabbed hold of federal tax credits and affordable prices.
However, sales plummeted 35 percent from December, a sign that the housing market’s recovery may be on shaky ground.
The median sales price of previously [...] [...]
HATTIESBURG — Mississippi officials have found creosote residue in a south Hattiesburg neighborhood but say there is no risk to local residents.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has been at the site since December after community members reported seeing a rust-colored residue leaking from a monitoring well.
The area is the former site of a creosote [...] [...]
The Mississippi Development Authority Disaster Recovery Division’s (MDA DRD) Small Rental Assistance Program (SRAP) has completed and received certificates of occupancy for more than 2,000 small rental units in less than two years, halfway to SRAP’s projected 4,000 unit goal.
SRAP, along with the state’s Long Term Workforce Housing and Public Housing Assistance programs, represents almost [...] [...]
