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THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND REAL ESTATE WEEKLY FOR MASSACHUSETTS BY THE NUMBERS
PAGE 6
County close-up: Berkshire Spotlight: Tyringham
Many members of the public don’t understand the role of architects and the value of their work, Natasha Espada said, so she’s pushing for the organization to expand its outreach to underserved communities. A former associate principal at Leers Weinzapfel Assoc., Espada founded her own firm, Needham-based Studio Enee, in 2013.
IN PERSON
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WEEK OF MONDAY, APRIL 6, 2020
RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE BY THE NUMBERS
11 percent New listings dropped 11 percent as the coronavirus hit. See James Sanna’s story on page 11. Source: MLS PIN
172 The number of single-family homes sold in Berkshire County through February. See By the Numbers on page 6. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module
100 percent Real estate services have been declared fully ‘essential’ services during the pandemic. See Week on the Web on page 2. Source: The Baker administration
WAIT AND SEE
RENTERS HIT PAUSE AMID
PANDEMIC
$2.25 million The price of the most expensive, recent existing single-family sale in Berkshire County See By the Numbers on page 6. Source: The Warren Group
6,771 square feet The size of the largest property in this week’s Gossip Report. See page 9. Source: The Warren Group
Some Landlords Increase Incentives to Spur Leasing BY STEVE ADAMS BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
15 percent The growth in the median Berkshire County single-family sales price. See By the Numbers on page 6. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module
17 percent The growth in the number of Berkshire County single-family sales. See By the Numbers on page 6. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module
Unless otherwise noted, all data is sourced from The Warren Group’s Mortgage Market Share Module, Loan Originator Module, Statistics Module
M
ounting losses and economic anxiety are injecting uncertainty into the Boston area’s apartment-hunting scene, where landlords typically hold
a firm upper hand. Some lease deals are taking longer to execute as prospective tenants ask for opt-out clauses because of potential job losses, a
week after a record 148,000 Massachusetts residents suddenly filed for unemployment amid the escalating COVID-19 epidemic. “We’re getting more leads than ever, and then they get down to brass tacks,” said Demetrios Salpoglou, CEO of online rental platform Boston Pads. “More parents are getting involved, saying, ‘I want to look over the lease.’ The length of the transaction itself is slowing down.” Brookline-based City Realty is offering $200 gift cards as an incentive to sign new leases through April 15, with the payments dedicated to Allston Village businesses which have been reeling from bans on indoor dining and social distancing measures.
The Hamilton Co. of Allston, which owns approximately 5,800 apartments in Greater Boston, has seen an approximately 0.5 percent increase in vacancies over the past month, Co-CEO Jameson Brown said. “It’s definitely been a paradigm change, and we’ve been starting to do a lot of rentals sight unseen and through virtual tours,” Brown said. “It seems to be embraced by renters and brokers.” An increasing number of mom-and-pop landlords are offering additional $200 to $500 incentives to brokers on signed leases, on top of the standard broker fee equal to one month’s rent, said Dave Monheit,
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS
POWERING THROUGH
Future Cloudy, but Don’t Give in to Doom and Gloom
Creativity Helps Meet Crisis Challenges
By Scott Van Voorhis | Banker & Tradesman Columnist
By Diane McLaughlin | Banker & Tradesman Staff
Will Boston’s Building Frontline Employees Boom End? Wait and See Keep Banks Running
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Continued on Page 7
Commercial Real Estate PAGE 3
Banking & Lending PAGE 9