of 2015
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Est ab li s h e d 1 8 7 2
THE
FINANCIAL
www.bankerandtradesman.com
WEEK OF MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2015
SERVICES
AND
REAL
ESTATE
WEEKLY
FOR
MASSACHUSETTS
A Publication of The Warren Group
CRE ON CAMPUS
A No-Brainer For MIT Filling In The Gaps In Kendall Square BY STEVE ADAMS BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
W
hen it trades in its lab goggles for a developer’s hardhat, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is no different from any other investor looking for the highest return. In Cambridge’s Kendall Square, home to Greater Boston’s highest commercial rents and scarcest vacancies, MIT sees better uses for 8 acres of prime real estate it owns than the current jumble of parking lots and aging classroom buildings, labs and graduate housing. The final phase of permitting has begun for 1.8 million square feet of offices, labs retail shops and apartments. The project gives MIT an opportunity to cash in on the booming Kendall Square market, where average lab rents have hit $85 per square foot. “It’s going to be the most expensive space in Cambridge. It could be in excess of $100 per square foot,” predicted John Osten, a managing partner with JLL. Continued on Page B4
HSAS ON FIRE
As Deductibles Climb, So Does Demand For HSAs Big Banks Report Climbing Enrollment Numbers; Community Banks Flinch At Associated Costs BY LAURA ALIX BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
T
he move toward high-deductible health plans has fueled growing interest in companion health savings accounts (HSAs). Yet as more and more Americans take a hands-on approach to their health care and more insurance companies move towards higher deductibles, they are finding that their local banks can’t meet their needs. The HSA is a relatively new financial product, first established in 2003 as part of a larger piece of health care legislation. The idea behind the HSA – a tax-advantaged medical savings account available to Continued on Page 11
Home Sales And Median Prices Up Statewide Realtors Say The Numbers Don’t Tell The Whole Story
Hot Or Not: Top 10 And Bottom 10 Towns In Massachusetts 2014 MEDIAN PRICE
BY JIM MORRISON BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
I
n July, single-family home sales in Massachusetts had their best single month since June 2005. Condominium sales also surged in the Bay State, posting their best month since August 2007. There were 7,077 single-family sales in July 2015, a 24.31 percent increase from July 2014. There were 2,794 condo sales statewide, a 20.07 percent increase from last year. The communities that saw the biggest year-to-date gains in sales prices were Charlestown (44.95 percent), Stockbridge (30.2 percent), Princeton (30 percent), Orleans (27.58 percent) and Mattapan (26.56 percent). Nancy Roth of Hammond Residential in Charlestown said one reason for the dramatic increase in median sales prices in that neighborhood is that a couple of large, high-end singlefamilies went on the market earlier this year and drew buyers from all over the city. When those houses sold, many of the remaining buyers continued to look in Charlestown, driving up demand – and prices – on the limited
TOP 10
A SUPPLEMENT TO BANKER & TRADESMAN
BOTTOM 10
CREInsider The
A BANNER MONTH
2015 MEDIAN PRICE
2015-2015 % CHANGE
Charlestown
$664,000
$962,500
44.95%
Stockbridge
$315,000
$410,000
30.16%
Princeton
$262,500
$341,000
29.90%
Orleans
$508,500
$648,750
27.58%
Mattapan
$256,000
$324,000
26.56%
West Newbury
$421,750
$533,000
26.38%
Paxton
$218,750
$276,000
26.17%
Williamstown
$262,500
$330,000
25.71%
Sheffield
$235,000
$293,750
25.00%
Acushnet
$208,500
$257,000
23.26%
Millis
$385,000
$342,000
-11.17%
Lancaster
$321,000
$285,000
-11.21%
Hadley
$344,900
$305,000
-11.57%
Deerfield
$280,000
$246,250
-12.05%
Boxboro
$640,000
$555,000
-13.28%
West Brookfield
$212,500
$183,175
-13.80%
Cotuit
$425,000
$365,000
-14.12%
Boylston
$399,000
$325,000
-18.55%
$3,071,000
$2,475,000
-19.41%
Lanesboro
$215,750
$169,400
-21.48%
Becket
$190,000
$148,000
-22.11%
Boston
Continued on Page 8
CONTENTS
Residential .............................................................. 8
CRE Insider ............................................................ B1
Points ....................................................................... 4
Commercial & Industrial ........................................ 10
Records Section...................................................... C1
By The Numbers ....................................................... 6
Banking & Lending ................................................ 11
SUPPLEMENTS
In Person .................................................................. 7
Classified Sections ................................................. 12