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2016 ANNUAL PROPERTY TRANSFERS DIRECTORY Call 617.896.5388 or email datasolutions@thewarrengroup.com Est ab li s h e d 1 8 7 2
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WEEK OF MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2017
financial
services
and
real
estate
weekly
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massachusetts
A Publication of The Warren Group COMMERCIAL INTERESTS 2017 OUTLOOK
THE WHITE-HOT MARKET HAS A DARK SIDE Homebuying Process Is Longer, More Expensive And Riskier
Greater Boston’s Red Hot Real Estate Market Spring Market 2015 Vs. 2016 Essex County
Number of Sales
Median Price
BY JIM MORRISON | BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
T
he white-hot Greater Boston real estate market is generating a lot of heat, and a lot of money, but it’s not making everyone feel all warm and fuzzy. If 2015 was a strong year, 2016 was a very strong year for Massachusetts real estate – and 2017 looks even better. Realtor.com chief economist Jonathan Smoke predicts prices and the number of sales will both increase just over 6 percent in 2017. That growth is expected to depend on rising, but still historically low, mortgage interest rates. Mike Fratantoni, chief economist and vice president of research for the Mortgage Bankers Association, expects mortgage interest rates to remain relatively low throughout 2017.
Homebuyers Hit Hardest
Gary Dwyer, broker/owner of Buyers Agents of Boston, said it’s harder to get an accepted offer for his clients now than it has been at any time since he started his company in 2005. Continued on Page 9
Norfolk County March
14.99%
3.80%
April
16.02%
2.01%
May
15.00%
10.97%
June
5.74%
4.13%
Plymouth County
Number of Sales
Median Price
2.08%
March
38.75%
1.20%
April
29.41%
6.13%
April
48.21%
5.84%
May
8.66%
11.12%
May
19.96%
.31%
June
6.04%
9.42%
June
20.35%
1.16%
Plymouth County
Number of Sales
Median Price
-0.71%
March
38.75%
1.20%
27.45%
6.59%
April
48.21%
5.84%
May
18.23%
2.45%
May
19.96%
.31%
June
5.83%
9.32%
June
20.35%
1.16%
March
18.75%
April
Median Price
BY SCOTT VAN VOORHIS BANKER & TRADESMAN COLUMNIST
W
orkplace safety watchdog OSHA has long been the federal agency that businesspeople have loved to gripe about, especially in the construction business. But love it or hate it, it’s hard to argue that the inspectors of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration don’t play a vital role at a time when thousands of people still die SCOTT VAN VOORHIS every year across the country in workplace accidents, more than a few of them on construction job sites. The Boston drain company at the center of the tragic trench collapse last year in the Back Bay in which two workers drowned had been in OSHA’s crosshairs for some time, to name one example. Dozens of people die on the job each year in Massachusetts.
Median Price
34.98%
Number of Sales
Industry Recognizes Need For Safety Watchdog
Continued on Page 12 Number of Sales
March
Middlesex County
A World Without OSHA
Source: The Warren Group
CONTENTS Commercial & Industrial ������������������������������������������ 3
In Person ������������������������������������������������������������������ 7
Banking & Lending ������������������������������������������������ 11
Points ����������������������������������������������������������������������� 4
Residential Real Estate Outlook 2017 ���������������������� 8
Classified Sections ������������������������������������������������� 13
By The Numbers ������������������������������������������������������� 6
Residential ������������������������������������������������������������ 10
Records Section ������������������������������������������������������ B1
FRIENDS AND FAMILY NETWORK
The Color Of Money CRE Industry Moves Beyond Its Comfort Level BY STEVE ADAMS BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
This article is the first of a two-part series exploring attempts to improve opportunities for women and minorities in the local commercial real estate industry.
R
acial diversity remains elusive in local commercial real estate circles, despite Boston’s 21st-century DNA as a majority-minority city. Industry gatherings remain a sea of dark suits and white faces, in contrast to the composition of the life science industry playing a big part in the region’s economic boom. That the real estate industry remains a predominantly white male preserve in 2017 is the result of decades of neglect, executives and diversity advocates agree, and a tendency to fall back on tight-knit social networks to fill job openings. “That’s our Achilles heel,” said Taidgh McClory, a partner at CBRE/New England and one of a handful of top-level minority execuContinued on Page 3