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www.bankerandtradesman.com
WEEK OF MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2015
services
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real
estate
weekly
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massachusetts
A Publication of The Warren Group
CREInsider
CONDO PRICES RISING
The
For The First Time GREATER BOSTON CONDO PRICES
A SUPPLEMENT TO BANKER & TRADESMAN RELIEF VALVE
NorthPoint: This Time It’s For Real?
EQUAL SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES
From Blank Slate To Tech Hub BY STEVE ADAMS BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
S
an Francisco-based DivcoWest is known in Boston as a big-name player in investment sales, aggressively acquiring downtown properties in the rising market and quickly selling them for hefty windfalls. For its next trick, DivcoWest will attempt to perform CPR on the long-delayed NorthPoint development site on the Cambridge-Somerville border. DivcoWest is expected to pursue biotech and life science companies looking for world headquarters as it tries to jumpstart up to 2 million square feet of commercial development on the 45-acre property. With dog-eared permits dating back to 2003 already in hand, the new owners would like to break ground next Continued on Page B9
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS
End Of A Leftist Era? Cambridge Residents Alliance Takes A Beating At The Polls BY SCOTT VAN VOORHIS BANKER & TRADESMAN COLUMNIST
G
oodbye, People’s Republic of Cambridge; you’ll be sorely missed by columnists and right-wing wits every-
where. Maybe it’s time to rethink Cambridge’s old reputation as a loony bin of ultra-left ideas after the watershed City Council elections earlier this month. A coalition of neighborhood activists, determined to slam the brakes on Cambridge’s development boom and pretty much ban new high-end apartment towers, failed miserably in its attempt to take over the City Council. “We must stop the over-development train that is running swiftly down the track,” shouts the Cambridge Residents Alliance on its website. Instead, a “Unity Slate” of veteran city councilors mostly won the day in a victory Continued on Page 3
Strong High-End Condo Sales Fuel The Surge BY JIM MORRISON BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
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or the first time in the region’s history, the median sale price of a single condo unit in Greater Boston is virtually equal to the median sale price of a single-family home. “It tells a mammoth story about the change in demand of the type of housing people are seeking,” said Barry Bluestone, founding director of the Dukakis Center. “In 2000, condos sold for two-thirds the price of a single-family home in Greater Boston. Today, their median sales prices are virtually identical – and it’s being driven by demographics.” The convergence of the price points is due to increased demand for high-end units from both younger buyers and current homeowners, according to the latest “Greater Boston Housing Report Card,” a report prepared by the Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University for The Boston Foundation. Using data provided by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, the report found that as of June 2015, condominiums in the five-county greater Boston area (Essex, Middlesex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Plymouth counties) sold for 99 percent of what single-family homes sold for in the same region. Between 2011 and 2014, condos sold for about 89 percent of single-family homes prices. The report calls this “a startling change in the housing market.” Bluestone attributes the change to the shift in demand from single-family homes to condominiums as both “emptyContinued on Page 7
CONDO PRICES ON THE RISE
Greater Boston Condo Median Sale Price YTD 2015 $401,398 2010 $293,679 2005 $300,458 2000 $176,686
Condo Median Sale Price YTD 2015
$405,198
2010 $354,207 2005 $405,059 2000 $260,196
Ratio Of Condo To SFH Prices YTD 2015 0.99 2010 0.83 2005 0.74 2000 0.68 Includes Essex, Suffolk, Plymouth, Middlesex and Norfolk counties Source: Dukakis Center analysis of data from The Warren Group
CONTENTS
By The Numbers ������������������������������������������������������� 6
Commercial & Industrial ������������������������������������������ 8
Points ����������������������������������������������������������������������� 4
Residential �������������������������������������������������������������� 7
CRE Insider ������������������������������������������������������������ B1
In Person ������������������������������������������������������������������ 5
Banking & Lending �������������������������������������������������� 8
Records Section ������������������������������������������������������ C1