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THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND REAL ESTATE WEEKLY FOR MASSACHUSETTS BY THE NUMBERS
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County close-up: Essex Spotlight: Andover
Michelle Apigian is a leader in Massachusetts’ “passive house” movement, spreading the word on how tightly-insulated building envelopes can deliver energy savings to building owners. She is a board member of the Passive House Massachusetts, a nonprofit that provides educational programming to the real estate industry.
IN PERSON
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WEEK OF MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 2019
RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE BY THE NUMBERS
ACQUISITION OPPOSITION
$2 million A transfer tax on homes over $2 million has been suggested to raise money for affordable housing on the Cape. See Week on the Web on page 2. Source: State Sen. Julian Cyr
-2.55 percent The median sale price of a singlefamily home in Andover has fallen 2.55 percent from 2018, year to date. See By the Numbers on page 6. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module
22 Among all homes for sale in America, the number of days spent on the market has increased by 22 in two years. Source: National Association of Realtors
$5.825 million The purchase price of a recently sold penthouse in the new Pier Four development in the Seaport District. See the Gossip Report on page 9. Source: The Warren Group
$1.49 million The median single-family home sale price so far this year on Nantucket, which is suffering a workforce housing crisis. See Week on the Web on page 2. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module
7,012 square feet The size of the largest home in this week’s Gossip Report. See page 9. Source: Town of Wellesley Assessors Office
$447,000 The median single-family home sale price in Essex County so far this year. See By the Numbers on page 6. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module
MCGURK’S BID TO STOP PURCHASE OF UNITED BANK FACES BIG OBSTACLES Institutional Investors Hold 63 Percent of Outstanding Shares BY BRAM BERKOWITZ BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
W
hen William McGurk officially retired from his post as CEO and president of Rockville Bank and its holding company in 2011, he said his successor William Crawford came up to him at his retirement party and said, “This is what I want to do. I want to stay here
until I retire and go out just like you did.” Nearly two acquisitions later, the two have found themselves on opposite ends of a planned merger that would see People’s United Bank gobble up the Hartford, Connecticut-based United Bank in an all-stock transaction valued at $759 million. United acquired Rockville in 2014 and Crawford became CEO of the new entity. McGurk, who is a shareholder in People’s United and United, has been outspoken about his disappointment in the deal. United shareholders are getting $14.74 per share when the stock was trading just
above $14 per share before the acquisition was announced.
A High Standard to Meet
Despite being one of the largest private shareholders in United Bank, McGurk will face an uphill battle if he hopes to get enough votes among other shareholders to prevent the acquisition from happening. “I’m not in favor and I’ve got my shares and am probably the largest individual shareholder, but I’m not up with the big boys on the institutional side,” Continued on Page 9
12,699 The number of housing units in Andover. See the Town Spotlight in By the Numbers on page 6. Source: U.S. Census Bureau
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.
FINAL FRONTIER
DESIGN TRENDS
Lab Strategy Starts to Surpass Multifamily with Tech Cluster Set to Expand
Contemporary Designs Trend Away from the ‘Historic Edifice’
By Steve Adams | Banker & Tradesman Staff
By James Hayden | Special to Banker & Tradesman
With Deep Pockets, Lab Developers New School Buildings Are More Positioned to Dominate Allston than Warehouses for Students
Commercial Real Estate PAGE 3
Opinion PAGE 10