JANUARY 15 | MOHEGAN SUN REGISTER TODAY! www.nemortgageexpo.com Est ab li s h e d 1 8 7 2
the
www.bankerandtradesman.com
WEEK OF MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2016
financial
services
and
real
estate
weekly
for
massachusetts
A Publication of The Warren Group STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
FIs Provide Model For Embattled Businesses
GOOD TIMES
Lawmakers Consider Patent Infringement Bill After Bankers Fight Back BY LAURA ALIX BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
Big Banks Eye Local Markets As Equity Rises BY JIM MORRISON | BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
W
ith interest rates on the rise and the springtime home improvement season nearly upon us, home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) and home equity loans are expected to be big business for local lenders in 2016. Through the end of November 2015 (the most recent month for which data is available), single-family and condominium owners in Middlesex County took out 2,801 HELOCs, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. In Middlesex, the state’s most populous county, the average HELOC amount was $235,171, and was taken an average of 18.75 years after the home was purchased. Traditionally hot markets like Newton, Lexington and Arlington were the municipalities where homeowners took out the most HELOCs, but on average, there were 46 HELOCs in each city or town in the county. With home values on the rise in most of the 351 cities and towns across the state, HELOCs are a big market and traditionally, rate-conscious consumers have made lenders compete for their business. William Mullin, executive vice president at Dedham Savings Bank, said the bank was very busy in 2015, and though the Continued on Page 8
HOT AND COLD IN MIDDLESEX COUNTY HELOCs
Median Single-Family Sale Price
Newton
238
$1,012,500
Lexington
117
Arlington
HELOCs
Median Single-Family Sale Price
Townsend
9
$255,500
$935,000
Dunstable
7
$465,000
101
$631,500
Everett
7
$306,000
Framingham
95
$355,000
Pepperell
7
$314,950
Chelmsford
91
$374,950
Ashby
2
$210,500
The average length of time between home purchase and HELOC: 18.75 years Average HELOC amount: $235,171 Year-to-date through November; single-family and condominiums. Source: The Warren Group
CONTENTS
By The Numbers ������������������������������������������������������� 6
Commercial & Industrial ������������������������������������������ 9
Banking & Lending �������������������������������������������������� 3
In Person ������������������������������������������������������������������ 7
Classified Sections ������������������������������������������������� 10
Points ����������������������������������������������������������������������� 4
Residential �������������������������������������������������������������� 8
Records Section ������������������������������������������������������ B1
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tate lawmakers might have been a little bit perplexed last fall to see bankers testifying in favor of legislation that will result in more regulation, but Massachusetts’ bankers are taking on the trolls to protect their customers and their own bottom line. “I think the members of the [Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure] were a little surprised that someone from the banking industry was testifying on a patent bill,” Jon Skarin, senior vice president of the Massachusetts Bankers Association, said of his testimony last fall on Senate bill 178, or “An Act Protecting Massachusetts Businesses from Abusive Patent Infringement Claims.” That bill would clamp down on abusive patent infringement claims and seeks to put an end to “bad faith patent assertions.” It’s modeled after similar legislation passed in Vermont in 2013. New England is hardly alone in this effort. More than 20 states have passed, or at least considered, anti-patent Continued on Page 3 NEXT STOP LEXINGTON
Changing DNA On Route 128 Biotech Demand, Redevelopment Boost Rents BY STEVE ADAMS BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
L
ife science expansion is changing the DNA of Route 128 real estate as pharmaceutical giant Shire expands its Lexington campus and biotech startups circle office parks in Lexington and Waltham in search of lab space. Shire is expected to fill a large office vacancy as it expands its Massachusetts workforce by 500 employees by the end of March. It has agreed to acquire the former Cubist Pharmaceuticals buildings at 45-55 Hayden Ave. in Lexington, which contain 190,000 square feet of office space on a 26-acre site, according to real estate sources. Continued on Page 9