Turn to page B1 for Banker & Tradesman’s monthly coverage of all things commercial real estate.
THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND REAL ESTATE WEEKLY FOR MASSACHUSETTS BY THE NUMBERS
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County close-up: Worcester Spotlight: Holden
IN PERSON
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After a brief career on Beacon Hill as a legislative aide, Bill Crean transitioned to the private sector representing Construction Industries of Massachusetts during the heyday of the Central Artery Tunnel project. A commercial real estate broker for the past two decades, Crean joined Avision Young in August.
WEEK OF MONDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2018
RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE BY THE NUMBERS
5,231 The number of single-family home sales in Massachusetts in November, a 2.2 percent increase from November 2018. See Week on the Web on page 2 for more. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module
$3.6 million The average Boston luxury home price, down 4.7 in the third quarter and the sixth-steepest decline in luxury prices nationwide. See Scott Van Voorhis’ column on page 1 for more. Source: Redfin
13 percent The share of Massachusetts homeowners who are people of color, even though people of color make up 27 percent of the state’s residents. See Chrystal Kornegay’s column on page 4 for more. Source: MassHousing
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS
WATCH OUT FOR FALLING PRICES
$385,000 The median single-family home price in Massachusetts in November, an all-time high for the month. See Week on the Web on page 2 for more. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module
11,284 The square footage of the most expensive home sale in Massachusetts in this week’s Gossip Report, a blufftop mansion with a tower-like guest house. See the Gossip Report on page 8 for more. Source: Chatham Assessor’s Office
36 percent The share of Boston luxury condominiums whose owners have not applied for the city’s property tax exemption for homeowners, and thus are likely investor-owned. See Scott Van Voorhis’ column on page 1 for more. Source: Institute for Policy Studies
900 The number of low-, moderate- and middleincome households MassHousing helped purchase a home in the first nine months of a new down payment assistance program launched this year. See Chrystal Kornegay’s column on page 4 for more. Source: MassHousing
11 The number of home theater seats in the most expensive home sale in this week’s Gossip Report. See the Gossip Report on page 8 for more. Source: Paul Grover, Robert Paul Properties
Glut of New Units Is Softening Investor-Led Luxury Market BY SCOTT VAN VOORHIS BANKER & TRADESMAN COLUMNIST
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ello, Wall Street roller co aster. Goodbye, luxury real estate market. Boston luxury home prices actually fell – that’s right, fell – a substantial 4.7 percent in the third quarter, to an average of $3.6 million, Redfin reports. Boston saw the sixth-steepest de-
suburbs, is starting to flag as 2018’s stock market turbulence turned into a rout in the final weeks of the year. The luxury real estate market in New York and in other cities has already absorbed some big hits amid the stock market’s gyrations and a flood of new, multimillion-dollar condos. In fact, the luxury market in the Big Apple is in a full-fledged correction, with some buyers forced to take a 30 percent haircut from the price they bought at just a few years before, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Continued on Page 3
THE ROAD AHEAD
M O R T G A G E D ATA
Activity Is Busy Along the Urban Edges
Originating 500+ HELOCs, Fixed-Rate Mortgages Means Reporting Additional Data
10 CRE Stories to Watch in 2019 By Steve Adams | Banker & Tradesman Columnist
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.
cline in luxury prices, with the top five losers all boom-and-bust Florida cities like Sarasota, Delray Beach and Fort Lauderdale. The decline on the high end happened even as prices in the remaining 95 percent of the market rose 7 percent. It’s official confirmation of what real estate pros have been noticing for a while: a buildup of inventory at the high end of the market not just in Boston, but in tony MetroWest suburbs and on Cape Cod as well. It’s no coincidence the luxury market, so strong for years in Boston and the
Commercial Real Estate PAGE 7
HMDA Changes Leave Small Credit Unions with Whiplash By Bram Berkowitz | Banker & Tradesman Staff
Banking & Lending PAGE 8