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A Publication of The Warren Group SHOVEL-READY SITES FAIR HOUSING
Assembly Square Is Ready For Its Next Act Joins The Mix For Office, Lab Projects BY STEVE ADAMS BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
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Advocacy And Industry Groups Aim To Reverse Decline In Black Homeownership Rates Credit Scores And Loan Requirements High Hurdles To Clear BY JIM MORRISON | BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
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omeownership rates among black Americans were disproportionately affected by the mortgage crisis and have recovered more slowly than other groups. Advocates say removing barriers to black homeownership is fair, profitable and the key to increasing access to the American dream for all. The National Association of Real Estate Agents (NAREB) was founded in 1947 as an “equal opportunity and civil rights advocacy organization for African-American real estate professionals, consumers and communities.” The group is similar to NAR, but NAREB members, called Realtists, are primarily, though not exclusively, black. NAREB’s 2017 State of Housing in Black America (SHIBA) report found black homeownership rates have recently shown signs of modest improvement, but it’s too soon to declare victory. “The black homeownership rate rose from its near 50-year low of 41.3 in the third quarter of
2016 to above 42 percent in the first two quarters of 2017. Although this is an insufficient time period to determine whether we are observing a rising trend,” according to the report. A 2017 report from the Urban Institute confirmed the narrative. “In the three decades after the Fair Housing Act passed [in 1968], black homeownership rose by almost 6 percentage points,” the report found. “But from 2000 to 2015, that gain was more than erased as forces within and beyond the housing market aligned to reduce the black homeownership rate to 41.2 percent.”
Breaking Down Barriers The SHIBA report identifies three major obstacles keeping many potential black homebuyers from becoming homeowners: the high cost of loans, the high cost of real estate and the lack of lenders in black communities. According to the SHIBA report, “between 2008 Continued on Page 8
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In Person ������������������������������������������������������������������ 7
Banking & Lending ������������������������������������������������� 10
Points ����������������������������������������������������������������������� 4
Residential ��������������������������������������������������������������� 8
Classified Sections ������������������������������������������������� 11
By The Numbers ������������������������������������������������������� 6
Commercial & Industrial ������������������������������������������ 9
Records Section ������������������������������������������������������ B1
irst came the outlet stores and apartments. Then a 107-unit condo tower that’s virtually sold-out five months ahead of completion, with average prices topping $850 per square foot. The next act for Federal Realty Investment Trust’s Assembly Row in Somerville: a 155-room hotel and up to 1.5 million square feet of office space. On an adjacent parcel, a potential change of ownership could bring competition to Assembly Row. Real estate sources say Boston-based Novaya Ventures and Cresset Group have agreed to acquire the 9-acre parcel on Middlesex Avenue from longtime owner RD Management of New York. RD Management submitted plans to state regulators in 2016 for a 1.9-million-square-foot commercial and residential project, including a pair of commercial towers. The future of both properties will be a proving ground for Somerville’s potential Continued on Page 9 NEW FRONTIER
Credit Unions Make The Jump To SBA Lending SBA Renews Deal with NAFCU To Increase CU-Issued Loans BY BRAM BERKOWITZ BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
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s loans backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration have gained in popularity in Massachusetts – surpassing pre-recession levels – momentum is building to join the program, especially among credit unions. The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions recently renewed a deal with the SBA intended to encourage more credit unions to offer SBA loans, with a target goal of having 250 credit unions issuing 10 or more SBA loans outstanding. “We are continuing to see interest,” Robert Nelson, director of the SBA’s Massachusetts District Office, told Banker & Tradesman. “We would love to see more credit Continued on Page 10