Est ab li s h e d 1 8 7 2
the
financial
www.bankerandtradesman.com
WEEK OF MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2015
services
and
real
estate
weekly
for
massachusetts
A Publication of The Warren Group
CREInsider
CONFLICTING PRIORITIES
The
REPORT RANKS REALTORS’ RISKS
MASS. REALTORS’ WORRIES DIFFER FROM NATION’S
A SUPPLEMENT TO BANKER & TRADESMAN HIGHEST AND BEST USE
SouthField Sets High Bar For Development But Does Strategy Align With Market? BY STEVE ADAMS BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
TOP CONCERNS AGENTS
MASSES OF MARGINAL AGENTS DESTROY REPUTATION BY JIM MORRISON | BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
A
164-page report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) identifies and ranks 50 threats, ranging from what it called “a regulatory tsunami,” which topped the list, to the threat that agents will be removed from the transaction altogether, which came in last. In Massachusetts, agents’ concerns differ from those of their national brethren. The top reported concern – increased regulation – may in fact be a good thing, they said. With more than 35 years of experience selling in the Greater Boston area, Chobee Hoy, owner of Chobee Hoy Assoc. in Brookline, said the forecasted increase in regulation at the federal level “doesn’t keep me up at night.” “When you’ve been in it as long as I have, there’s always been changes,” Hoy said. “I think change is always worrisome, but somehow or other you adjust and adapt to it. I’m not too worried about regulations.” One of Boston’s up-and-comers, William Raveis broker Eric Rollo, (named one of Realtor magazine’s “30 Under 30” this year) sold nearly $12 million worth of real estate in 2014. He said he’s not worried about increased regulation; in fact, he embraces it, though he acknowledges many in his field fear change. “I’m actually encouraged by increased regulation because it should increase the quality of agents,” Rollo said. “It should make it a harder profession to get into. More regulations will force people to pay more attention to how they do what they do.” The idea of a data juggernaut like Google getting into real estate and competing with the MLS was a top concern in the report as well. Rollo said he wasn’t concerned about Google in particular, but he thinks the tech influence in real estate is just beginning – and will get bigger over time. “One disruptor would be someone like Compass Real Estate, who in the last 18 months has become number three in three different markets. The growth there is phenomenal,” he said. “The people who founded the company have backgrounds at Twitter and Goldman Sachs. They look at real estate in a whole different way. I think you’re going to see more tech companies getting involved in the process.” Anthony Lamacchia of Lamacchia Realty absolutely is not concerned about real estate agents being supplanted by technology, saying “it will never happen.” “Buyers and sellers can’t do this without brokers,” he said. “There’s way too much emotion involved. Brokers bring both parties down to earth and explain things. The majority of people are not Continued on Page 7
The real estate industry is saddled with a large number of part-time, untrained, unethical and/or incompetent agents. This knowledge gap threatens the credibility of the industry.
PROBABILITY TIMING
5
IMPACT
INDEX
4 5 100
BROKERS
T
he SouthField property in South Weymouth contains hundreds of shovel-ready acres just 17 miles from downtown Boston but has failed to attract any commercial development through a pair of real estate bull markets spanning back to the late 1990s. LStar Communities, the fourth company to assume the role of lead developer, is setting the bar high as it negotiates with commercial tenants looking to move to Massachusetts or squeezed out of hotter submarkets closer to Boston. “It’s the most efficient land in the commonwealth,” said Matthew Barry, a vice president for LStar. “We offer up to 120 acres of contiguous land that has no wetContinued on Page B9
REGULATORY TSUNAMI HITS Regulatory creep and large financial penalties increase compliance costs.
BROKEN-HEARTED NO MORE
DECISION-MAKING STRUCTURE BECOMES A HINDRANCE
Fannie & Freddie Here To Stay
NAR’s complex governance structure encumbers its ability to adopt the strategies, tactics and policies that are appropriate for the future.
Bankers Say Relationships Have Healed Since Crisis
PROBABILITY TIMING
5
4
IMPACT
5
INDEX
100
NAR
PROBABILITY TIMING
4
5
IMPACT
5
INDEX
100
CONTENTS
Residential ���������������������������������������������������������������7
Classified Section ������������������������������������������������� 10
Points ��������������������������������������������������������������������������4
In Person ��������������������������������������������������������������������8
CRE Insider ����������������������������������������������������������� B1
By The Numbers ������������������������������������������������������6
Banking & Lending ������������������������������������������������9
Records Section ��������������������������������������������������� C1
BY LAURA ALIX BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
G
reater clarity around repurchases and a new set of affordable lending products went a long way toward improving bankers’ relationship with the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) this year, though memories of crisis-era buybacks linger like a bad champagne hangover. In the New Year, forget all those resolutions to wind down Fannie and Freddie; they’re here to stay – at least for now. For all the talk of privatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two GSEs still play an enormous role in the mortgage business. In the third quarter alone, they collectively pumped well over $200 billion in liquidity into the mortgage market. Continued on Page 9