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THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND REAL ESTATE WEEKLY FOR MASSACHUSETTS BY THE NUMBERS
PAGE 6
County close-up: Worcester Spotlight: Leominster
IN PERSON
PAGE 8
Mike O’Brien has overseen notable building projects for Gilbane ranging from Worcester’s future triple-A baseball stadium, Polar Park, to Hobbs Brook Management’s 225 Wyman St. office-lab project in Waltham and the recently completed Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School in Lexington.
WEEK OF MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2020
BANKING & LENDING BY THE NUMBERS
SPRING OUTLOOK
WILL THE
669,000
SPRING MARKET
The number of small businesses in Massachusetts. See Diane McLaughlin’s story on page 9. Source: Small Business Administration
4.78 percent Fairway Independent Mortgage’s share of the Worcester County mortgage market. See By the Numbers on page 6. Source: The Warren Group’s Marketshare Module
BECOME THE SUMMER MARKET?
$5 million
COVID-19 COULD KEEP BUYERS AT HOME FOR MONTHS
First Republic Bank provided $5 million in mortgages for properties in the Gossip Report. See page 9. Source: The Warren Group
BY JAY FITZGERALD SPECIAL TO BANKER & TRADESMAN
E
verything seemed primed and set for a strong spring real estate market in Massachusetts. The economy was humming along. The market had the wind at its back after a record-breaking 2019 and a positive start to 2020 in January. Even the fickle New England weather was cooperating, as the region experienced one of the warmest winters in memory and as meteorologists predicted an early spring was on the way. And then the coronavirus outbreak hit. With the economy reeling and “social distancing” now the norm, real estate agents are becoming increasingly convinced that the once-promising spring market may have to wait until early summer, late summer, or perhaps even next fall, depending on how the outbreak plays out in coming weeks and months. “Our spring market might be pushed ahead,” said Ryan Wilson, owner of Wilson Group-Keller Williams in Newton. “Things are already starting to slow down. Yet there’s still a lot of serious buyers out there. We’ll have to see.”
40 percent The share of Massachusetts workers employed at a small business. See Diane McLaughlin’s story on page 9. Source: Small Business Administration
2 Fairway Independent Mortgage employs the top two loan originators in Worcester County. See By the Numbers on page 6. Source: The Warren Group’s Marketshare Module
48 hours Webster Five launched a twoday campaign to get its business borrowers on a solid footing. See Diane McLaughlin’s story on page 9. Source: Webster Five
$2 million Needham Bank provided a $2 million mortgage for the fifth home in the Gossip Report. See page 9. Source: The Warren Group
Continued on Page 10
0 Some registries of deeds are unable to process electronically filed mortgage documents. See Diane McLaughlin’s story on page 9. Source: Mass. Mortgage Bankers Association
Unless otherwise noted, all data is sourced from The Warren Group’s Mortgage Market Share Module, Loan Originator Module, Statistics Module and/or proprietary database. For more information please visit www.thewarrengroup.com/business/ datasolutions.
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS
CREDIT CRUNCH?
Coronavirus Testing Fiasco Leaves America, Economy Fumbling in the Dark
Construction Ban Puts Pressure on Timelines
By Scott Van Voorhis | Banker & Tradesman Columnist
By Steve Adams | Banker & Tradesman Staff
The Crash of 2020, Brought Housing Developers Warn to You by Trump’s Failures of Risks to Projects
Commercial Real Estate PAGE 3
Banking & Lending PAGE 7