Mayor Sarno Attends Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley’s Education Fair and Expo - Mayors Forum

Mayor Sarno stated, “I want to thank the Realtor Association of the Pioneer Valley for hosting this Mayors Forum with my fellow mayors with ace moderator Dave Madsen, the best ad lib around.  It was great to meet with your members and discuss some details about the real estate market in our respective communities and the challenges we collectively face.  As any Realtor will confirm, it is a sellers’ market out there, so finding a sustainable program to keep people in their homes is instrumental.  To help with this, my Administration has funded over $2 million in mortgage, rent and utility assistance to Way Finders to help our Springfield residents during these challenging and surreal times of this COVID-19 pandemic.  One of the common themes during this Mayors Forum was improving our housing stock not just for new homeowners but creating programs for existing homeowners to use to improve their homes.  My Administration is proud to not only have our First Time Home Buyers Program, where we have seen a significant increase in homeownership, especially woman and minority home buyers, but also have an Emergency Home Repair and Assistance Program for existing homeowners.  In addition, one of the seven categories I have identified to utilize our ARPA funding is Housing, which will enhance our housing assistance programs even further.  Also, working with my CDO Tim Sheehan and Housing Director Gerry McCafferty we continue to find creative solutions on repurposing old buildings into new use structures while being respectful to our neighborhood and residents.”