COMMUNITY BANK CONFERENCE
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OCTOBER 29, 2015
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WEEK OF MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2015
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A Publication of The Warren Group INSPECTORS OR APPRAISERS?
Real Estate Appraisers Say New FHA Policy Goes Too Far Appraisers Object To Policy Changes; HUD Says They’re Minor
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS
TOO HOT TO HANDLE
Gateway Cities’ Recoveries May Threaten Affordable Housing Median Home Sale Prices In Gateway Cities On The Road To Recovery
BY JIM MORRISON BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
A
ppraisers say new Federal Housing Administration policy requires them to work outside their expertise and assess structural and mechanical systems, causing more confusion among the general public and exposing them to increased liability. The FHA’s Single-Family Housing Policy Handbook, which applies to all FHA appraisals completed after Sept. 14, 2015, requires appraisers to report “if the roof has less than two years of remaining life” and “examine the heating system to determine if it is adequate for healthful and comfortable living conditions.” According to FHA’s 2015 first-quarter market share report, the administration insured 16.5 percent of the purchase loans nationwide, and 5.7 percent of the refinancing market in 2014. That’s more than 750,000 borrowers and $133 billion worth of mortgages. John S. Brenan is the director of appraisal issues at The Appraisal Foundation in Washington, D.C. When the FHA solicited input for the new policy, his organization wrote that the language in the policy might Continued on Page 8 AN UBER PROBLEM
Medallion Lending In The Age Of Uber Mass. Bankers Back Regs For Ride-Sharing Industry BY LAURA ALIX BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
T
he ongoing narrative about regulating ride-sharing apps often reads as a conflict between tightly regulated cabbies and self-styled entrepreneurs armed with little more than their personal vehicles and smartphones. But banks have a dog in this fight, too. The Massachusetts Bankers Association has thrown its support behind a bill introduced by Rep. Michael J. Moran and Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry that would impose Continued on Page 11
BY SCOTT VAN VOORHIS BANKER & TRADESMAN COLUMNIST
O
August 2014
ld factory and mill towns like Everett, Brockton and Lowell have emerged as a last bastion of affordability as home and condominium prices go bonkers across large parts of the state. But now even these older industrial cities, with neighborhoods packed with homes, condos and apartments built a century or so ago, are starting to feel the heat from the hot market. Real estate prices in SCOTT VAN VOORHIS many of these old factory hubs and fishing ports are still a notch or two below their subprime lending-fueled peaks set during the bubble years of the mid-2000s. But more than a few of the state’s officially designated “Gateway Cities” are catching up fast, with Leominster, Lynn and Brockton, among others, posting double-digit price growth that in some cases is fast-outpacing the state average, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. And that’s potentially a concern given the important role the state’s roughly two dozen Gateway Cities play as a reliable source of less expensive housing within reach of lowand moderate-income buyers. “High-density housing at one point in time was not very trendy,” said Peter Milewski, director of homeownership lending at MassHousing. “Now that people realize that proximity to work and proximity to public transportation is desirable, a lot of these cities are becoming desirable.” “Nobody wants to drive two hours to work if you can hop on the commuter rail,” he added. MassHousing backed more than $730 million in affordable mortgages in the fiscal year ending in June, with more than a third going to buyers in Gateway Cities, where median income is below the state average, among other measures. Former mill and factory towns, Gateway Cities have long been a first stop for immiContinued on Page 3
TAUNTON $217,700 LAWRENCE $172,500 SPRINGFIELD $119,500 LYNN $255,000 BROCKTON $209,400 EVERETT $282,000 LOWELL $237,000 QUINCY $389,000 FITCHBURG $389,000 STATEWIDE $348,000
August 2015
Change
$282,450
+29.74%
$217,000
+25.8%
$134,500
+12.55%
$281,000
+10.2%
$230,000
+9.84%
$300,000
+6.38%
$250,000
+5.49%
$400,000
+2.83%
$400,000
+2.83%
$359,000
+3.2% Source: The Warren Group
CONTENTS
In Person ������������������������������������������������������������������ 7
Banking & Lending ������������������������������������������������ 11
Points ����������������������������������������������������������������������� 4
Residential �������������������������������������������������������������� 8
Classified Sections ������������������������������������������������� 13
By The Numbers ������������������������������������������������������� 6
Commercial & Industrial ���������������������������������������� 10
Records Section ������������������������������������������������������ B1