Banker & Tradesman, March 19, 2018

2017 TOP LENDERS SEE PAGE 12 FOR A LIST OF THE 2017

TOP LENDERS IN MASSACHUSETTS

THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND REAL ESTATE WEEKLY FOR MASSACHUSETTS

BY THE NUMBERS

PAGE 6

County close-up: Plymouth Spotlight: Lakeville

IN PERSON

PAGE 7

Martine Taylor took a job as a receptionist after earning a degree in family studies; she thought she’d go back and get a master’s degree in social work, but never did. She’s spent most of her professional life in the nonprofit sector and when she’s not working, she’s often volunteering for housing-related causes.

WEEK OF MONDAY, MARCH 19, 2018

RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE

BY THE NUMBERS

$342,000 The median sale price of a single-family home in Plymouth County was $342,000 in January, $8,000 shy of the state median for the month.

Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module See By the Numbers on page 6 for more.

233 percent Sales of single-family homes in Watertown are up 233 percent over January 2017, the highest percentage increase of any municipality in the state.

Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module Source: Massachusetts Association of Realtors

290 percent Not to be outdone, neighboring Cambridge saw the highest percentage increase in the median sale price of a singlefamily home, rising 290 percent year over year from $950,000 in January 2017 to $3.6 million in

UNEXPECTED GROWTH

Home Values on the Rise in Unexpected Communities

BY JIM MORRISON BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF

S

ingle-family home prices appreciated about 5 percent on average in Massachusetts last year. Some communities saw less appreciation, some saw more, and some dark horse Boston suburbs saw a whole lot more.

JIM MORRISON Everett is becoming the new Charlestown, according to industry veteran Chris Piazza of ERA Millennium in Everett. The median single-family home price jumped a staggering 14 percent in that hardscrabble town in 2017, according to analysis from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. Piazza said all but one house he listed in 2017 sold for above the asking price at the first open house.

Continued on Page 8

The Circle of Desirable Northern Suburbs is Expanding

10 vs. 14 Ten municipalities had median single-family sale prices above $1 million in January 2017; that number climbed to 14 in the first month of 2018. Concord was the only town to fall off the list, dropping a staggering 45 percent from more than $1.2 million to $657,500.

Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module

$581,000 The median price of a singlefamily home in Medford was $581,000 at the end of 2017, up 14 percent from the previous year.

Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module See Jim Morrison’s story on this page for more about desirable cities and towns north of Boston.

3 Three of the most expensive homes sold in Massachusetts last week were in Duxbury.

See the Gossip Report on page 8 for more.

Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module

2017 Median SingleFamily Price

Change from 2016

$2,697,500

-10%

$847,200

-4%

Charlestown

$947,500

-18%

$670,000

11%

Everett

$405,000

14%

$335,000

14%

Malden

$443,000

17%

$320,000

17%

Medford

$581,000

14%

$460,000

8%

Somerville

$722,500

12%

$645,000

11%

Boston

Rockland Trust Co. The local lender took second place in market share for the month of January in Plymouth County.

See By the Numbers on page 8 for more.

Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module

2017 Median Condo Sale Price

Source: The Warren Group

COMMERCIAL INTERESTS

Trulia Takedown

By Scott Van Voorhis | Banker & Tradesman Columnist

TIME IS MONEY

Legal Battle Sidetracks MGM Springfield Rival

BY Steve Adams | Banker & Tradesman Staff

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.

Change from 2016

Commercial Real Estate PAGE 3

Commercial Real Estate PAGE 9

2 | BANKER & TRADESMAN

MARCH 19, 2018

The Week on the Web

Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO and Publisher David B. Lovins, President and COO

BANKER

&

TRADESMAN

ESTABLISHED 1872

Published by The Warren Group

A ROUNDUP OF OUR MOST POPULAR STORIES FROM THE PAST WEEK HarborOne Parent to Acquire Rhode Island-based Coastway Bank •

EDITORIAL

Editorial & Media Relations Director: Cassidy Murphy Editor: Malea Ritz Associate Editor: Mike Flaim

• •

NEWSPAPERS Associate Editor: Steve Adams Reporters: Jim Morrison, Bram Berkowitz Contributing Writer: Scott Van Voorhis MARKETING & CREATIVE SERVICES

• • •

Director of Marketing & Creative Services: John Bottini Communications Manager: Mike Breed Communications Coordinator: Joy Cheramie Senior Brand Design Manager: Scott Ellison Graphic Designers: Tom Agostino, Amanda Martocchio, Elizabeth Rennie

PUBLISHING GROUP SALES

Director of Business Media: George Chateauneuf Publishing Group Sales Manager: Claire Merritt Advertising Coordinator: Sandy Liu

Architect Selected to Study BCEC Expansion • • • • •

Advertising & Events Intern: Ruth Beer

•

NEWSPAPERS Advertising Account Managers: Steve Ketler, Dan Benoit CUSTOM PUBLICATIONS Senior Advertising Account Manager: Mike Lydon Advertising Account Managers: Vanessa Robinson, Jon Patsavos, Megan Kurtz

HarborOne announced on Wednesday that it would purchase the parent of Warwick, Rhode Island-based Coastway Bank in an all-cash transaction valued at $125.6 million.

The deal gives HarborOne more than $741 million in assets, as of the end of 2017, and nine branches in the greater Providence area, as well as three mortgage lending offices.

With HarborOne’s $2.65 billion in assets as of the end of 2017, the new entity will be nearly $3.4 billion in assets, catapulting it to the 12th largest publicly traded bank in Massachusetts, a major mortgage lender in New England and the number one mortgage lender in Rhode Island.

About five years ago, HarborOne was a credit union; the organization transitioned to a bank in June 2013.

It acquired Merrimack Mortgage Co. Inc. of Manchester, New Hampshire, in April 2015, marking its first major acquisition since its 2013 conversion to a bank charter.

The bank reorganized into a mutual holding company and issued a partial IPO in March of 2016. Earlier this year, the bank acquired Cumberland County Mortgage, but the purchase of Coastway Bank is the first stock bank acquisition HarborOne has done since becoming a bank

A Missouri architectural firm has been selected to develop a master plan for expansion of the 70-acre Boston Convention and Exhibition Center campus.

The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority board of directors selected Populous Architects of Kansas City Thursday morning for the $2.2 million study, including an analysis of the convention market and Boston’s competitive position.

Omni Hotels & Resorts is partnering with local developers on a $550 million, 1,054-room hotel expected to break ground this year on Massport’s parcel D-2 across from the convention hall at 440 Summer St. Wellesley-based Harbinger Development and Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. are partnering on the 411-room Marine Wharf hotel at 660 Summer St., which expected to break ground this spring.

Hyatt Hotel Corp. and Denver-based McWhinney Real Estate Services are partnering on a 293-room hotel at 315 Northern Ave., after reaching agreement with property owner Massport on a ground lease.

The original convention hall completed in 2004 contains 516,000 square feet of contiguous exhibition space, 160,000 square feet of meeting space in 80 meeting rooms, a 40,000-square-foot ballroom, 62 loading docks, 1.25 miles of internal roadways and 2,000 parking spaces.

HERE’S WHAT YOUR PEERS WERE INTERESTED IN LAST WEEK: 1

Reebok Campus Under Agreement to California Investor

6

Westborough Apartment Complex Sold for $75.8M

2

New Brokerage Specializes in Route 128 Market

7

On Planet Reality, a Desperate Need for Housing

3

Google-Backed Robotics Firm Relocates to Waverley Oaks Park

8

Two MA Counties Placed on CFPB’s List of Rural or Underserved Counties

Director of Information Solutions Sales: Malee Nuesse

4

Medford Office Property Sale Reflects Orange Line Demand

9

Governor Won’t Ride the T

Senior Data Solutions Account Manager: William Visconti

5

Marlborough Businessmen Plead Guilty to Bank Fraud Scheme

EVENTS

Events Manager: Emily Torres Events Coordinator: Brittany Bennett Events Specialist: Jason Beal DATA PRODUCTS GROUP

10

South End Brownstone Sold for $4.4M

Data Solutions Account Managers: Kevin Bartlett, Chris Mirakian Audience Solutions Specialists: Jenell James, Sarah Ahlgren

POLL RESULTS

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Senior Applications Developer: Joe Chan Software Developers: Tatyana Lisyanaya, Michael Paul, Priyadarshini Velayudam INFORMATION SERVICES

Director of Operations & Product Strategy: Samantha Bullock Data Operations Supervisor: Tammy Dandurant Data Services Project Coordinator: John Keith Acquisitions Coordinator: Linda MacDonald Transactions Acquisition Coordinators: Wally Bullock, Ellen Gendron HR Coordinator: Andy Wells FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION

Accounting Manager: Mark DiSerio Accounts Payable: Olga Khalaydovsky

Millennials stand accused of killing everything from tacky restaurant chains to plastic straws. But can they help save a concept like the office park by moving out of the city? Or are they too busy working/killing the idea of vacations to care? B&T.com subscribers weigh in.

41%

Millennials won’t save office parks; savvy investors and developers will, by repositioning them to appeal to both tenants and workers.

32%

No, people have been saying Millennials will move to the ‘burbs for a decade and they’re still not there.

27%

Yes, but only if infrastructure supports them getting there with a reasonable commute.

Accounts Receivable Clerk: Stephanie Griffin

BANKE R &Manager: TR AD ESMA N Human Resource Linnea Blair

(ISSN 0005-5409)

Volume 199, Number 12 Published each Monday. ©2018 The Warren Group Inc., 280 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02210-1131.

All rights reserved.

B A N KER & T RA DES MAN (ISSN 0005-5409) No part of this publication may be reproduced Volume 199, Number 1 Published each Monday. without the written consent of the publisher. ©2018 The Warren Group Inc., 280 Summer Street, Banker & Tradesman™ and The Warren Group™ Boston, MA 02210-1131. All rights reserved. are trademarks of The Warren Group Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced Subscriptions to Banker & Tradesman: without the written consent of the publisher. ™ andTwo The year Warren Group™ Banker & Tradesman Premium: One year – $379 – $679 are trademarks of The Warren Group Inc. Single copies are $10.00 each and are on sale Subscriptions tothe Banker & Tradesman: at the offices of publisher.

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MARCH 19, 2018

BANKER & TRADESMAN | 3

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE COMMERCIAL INTERESTS

Trulia Takedown

Portal Contends Housing Most Affordable in 40 Years

BY SCOTT VAN VOORHIS BANKER & TRADESMAN COLUMNIST

D

id you hear the news? There’s no housing crisis after all! In fact, we have never had it so good, with homes more affordable than they have been in 40 years, not just in Peoria and Pittsburgh, but in Boston, San Francisco and New York!

That’s the rather astounding claim made by Trulia in a new report that uses today’s historically low interest rates to argue that homes are more affordable now they were 30 or 40 SCOTT VAN VOORHIS years ago.

And it surely comes as a surprise to the growing number of frustrated homebuyers struggling to land something – anything – and not just in hot markets like Boston and San Fran, but increasingly in other cities across the country.

What’s my beef with Trulia’s Pollyannaish-take on today’s real estate market?

Where do I start? Trulia’s report screams marketing all over it, an attempt to give an unsubtle push to potential buyers worried, for good reason, about soaring home prices.

Maybe this is not surprising, given that Trulia is a giant online and mobile sales platform for the real estate industry.

While Trulia churns out lots of reports and blog posts purporting to offer relatively objective insight into current real estate market conditions and trends, its

latest effort, “Not Your Father’s Housing Market,” stretches credulity. The report skews some key numbers to make the case that housing is more affordable now than it was decades ago when the Greatest Generation and up-and-coming Boomers dominated the market.

Sure, home prices – adjusted for inflation – have shot up 62 percent, while incomes have grown less than half that rate, or so Trulia argues. But the plunge in interest rates – from 16 percent in the 1980s to under 4 percent now – has been so dramatic as to cancel out price and wage trends and make housing more affordable, not less, Trulia concludes.

“Nationally, homes are just about the most affordable they’ve been in the last 40 years,” the report contends.

Detached from Reality

The comparison reeks of cherry picking. Trulia juxtaposes the early 1980s rate spike to today’s historically low numbers.

However, rates were significantly lower in the 1970s and in the years after, with many homeowners refinancing in the late ’80s and ’90s to take advantage of the declines. It is unlikely any buyer with half a brain wound up stuck with a 16 percent rate for decades.

Moreover, the model on which Trulia bases its claim is fatally flawed, as it is based on a theoretical buyer who forks over a 20 percent down payment to the bank.

This is significant. By putting 20 percent down, Trulia’s fortunate buyer doesn’t have to shell out hundreds of dollars a month for mortgage insurance. And

while it’s not clear the exact interest rate Trulia used in its calculations, anyone putting 20 percent down is going to get the lowest rate in the current market.

But this scenario is completely detached from the real estate market reality most middle-class buyers face today. Few people have the financial wherewithal to put down 20 percent, especially in highcost markets like Boston, where that could easily mean $100,000 on a $500,000 home or condominium.

The average down payment was 11 percent in 2016, dropping to 8 percent for buyers under 35, according to the National Association of Realtors.

In reality, that means the average buyer is not only paying private mortgage insurance, she is also paying a higher mortgage rate than the theoretical buyer on Planet Trulia who is thrilled, just thrilled, with how affordable housing has become.

Trulia’s calculations also leave out some other key factors that have made buying a house a lot less affordable and a lot more complicated than it was circa 1980.

For one, Trulia did not take into account consumer debt, which has grown substantially in the past few decades.

The cost of college tuition and health care, both relatively affordable back in 1980, have gone wild in the intervening years, far outstripping middle-class incomes, while credit card debt has ballooned as families have struggled to cope.

It’s a big deal. A survey of housing affordability in 2014, before the recent spike in prices, gave Boston a “D.” Unlike Trulia’s recent report, it did include consumer debt. And this was before the latest round of price increases.

Nor are buyers, or at least middleclass ones, as well off as Trulia seems to believe, as it points to a 27 percent rise in median income nationally since 1980. That number, however, includes

hugely disproportionate gains by the top 5 percent; middle-class incomes have barely budged at all during that time.

Fake News Hurts Us All

Housing affordability is far more complicated than a measure of calculating interest rates under ideal conditions.

There’s a very good argument that middle-class buyers in highly competitive markets like Boston are paying more for less – maybe in square footage and certainly in quality, location and condition – than they were 40 years ago.

Simply put, there were a lot more homes on the market in 1980s, with three to four times as many new homes being built each year in Massachusetts during the Reagan years compared to now.

For first-time buyers trying to break into the current market, the idea of choice is an alien concept, with too many buyers forced to battle it out in multiple bid situations and settle for what they can get.

Trulia’s odd take on the housing market is probably nothing more than an attempt to drive traffic with a silly, counterintuitive take on the state of the housing market. But nonsense isn’t always harmless.

By pushing the fallacious argument that buyers are better off today, Trulia undercuts the growing consensus, both in the Boston area and across the country, that more housing of all types is needed to help bring down prices and rents.

After all, if housing really is affordable, not just in Omaha, but even in such hotspots like Boston and San Francisco, why get all worked up about zoning and declining building permits? Sorry Trulia, but today’s housing market is anything but affordable, especially in Greater Boston.

Scott Van Voorhis is Banker & Tradesman’s columnist; opinions expressed are his own. He may be reached at sbvanvoorhis@ hotmail.com.

CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCY + THE FUTURE OF DEVELOPMENT DATE Wednesday, April 4, 2018 TIME Registration, Breakfast & Networking 7:30 AM - 8:00 AM Program 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM

As the development boom continues, climate change is affecting the way projects are designed and built.

Regulators at all levels of government are considering how laws and policies should address the changing climate.

Join NAIOP to get a behind the scenes look at how two ambitious projects in Boston’s Seaport, Pier 4 and Seaport Square, are tackling this issue and how a commitment to resiliency is shaping some of Boston’s most exciting new developments. Learn from insurance leader FM Global about their approach to working with developers on resiliency issues. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs and the Boston Planning & Development Agency will discuss current and future efforts to plan for climate change and what it means for development.

PLACE District Hall 75 Northern Avenue Boston, MA 02210

MASTER OF CEREMONIES Jamie Fay - Founder + President, Fort Point Associates, Inc.

EVENT SPONSOR

Chris Busch - Senior Waterfront Planner, Department of Climate Change & Environmental Planning Boston Planning & Development Agency

MEDIA PARTNER

PANEL ONE: THE PUBLIC SECTOR Kathleen Theoharides - Assistant Secretary of Climate Change, Executive Office of Energy + Environmental Affairs

PANEL TWO: THE PRIVATE SECTOR - INSURANCE PERSPECTIVE + DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS Gary Keith (Insurance Perspective) - Vice President, Engineering Standards Manager, FM Global Yanni Tsipis (Seaport Square) - Senior Vice President, WS Development David B. Wilkinson (Pier 4) - Senior Director, Tishman Speyer REGISTER online and see additional upcoming events at www.naiopma.org

4 | BANKER & TRADESMAN

MARCH 19, 2018

OPINION EDITORIAL

An Ode to New Englanders

EDITORIAL CARTOON

I

t’s been a trying couple of weeks for New England, but fortunately this is the home of some hardy folks – folks who sneer at bomb cyclones, let alone a couple of nor’easters. The residents of the cradle of the Revolution are not afraid of back-to-back storms dropping two feet of snow.

We will lace up our Sorel and Bean boots, don our Bruins hats and Patriots gloves (with a wistful, wishful glance at the stored Sox cap), put on our NorthFaces and our parkas. We will walk our dogs in gale force winds. We will shovel out our cars, snowblow our sidewalks and lay down way too much rock salt. We will dig out fire hydrants and clear storm drains, because this too shall pass, and when it does it’s going to be very wet.

Because our frozen granite exteriors shield warm and generous hearts, we will buy a cup of coffee for the homeless men and women in Downtown Crossing (Dunks, of course). We will snowblow our neighbors’ sidewalks as well as our own. We will wait, albeit impatiently, for our fellows to navigate the tiny paths cleared at all the crosswalks.

We will be open-hearted and open-handed.

And all the while we will complain – bitterly – about the weather, the T, the traffic and anything else we can think of, because it is our God-given right as New Englanders to do so.

Because the streets of Boston are little more than cow paths with delusions of grandeur, populated at the best of times by vehicles of all shapes and sizes driven by humans who think they are much better drivers than they are, we will entrust our safety to the fine people of the MBTA. Fighting the weather, accommodating employees “out sick,” accommodating aging equipment and infrastructure, they will do their best to get us where we need to be on time and in one piece – with very little thanks or credit.

We will slog through the slushy city streets and fight through the wind tunnels, jaywalking most of the way. A lucky few among us will put on slippers and sweatpants and crack open laptops on the kitchen table while the kids run amok on their third snow day in a row.

We will, to paraphrase a man who thinks it’s a good idea to cut the sleeves off all of his sweatshirts in the dead of winter, “do our jobs.”

Whether you got here by birth or blood, by transplantation or generation, by marriage or schooling or employment, you are a New Englander. From the backwoods of Maine to pastoral suburban Connecticut (except Fairfield County, those guys have identity issues), we are New Englanders.

By the time you read this editorial, some of last week’s snow will have melted and another nor’easter will potentially be on the horizon. But that’s March in Massachusetts.

Winter truly is waning and spring really is coming (eventually). Until then, we are New Englanders, and we endure.

Banker & Tradesman Cassidy Murphy

Editorial Director c m u r p h y @th e w a r r en gr o u p . co m

Timothy M. Warren Jr.

Publisher T i m o t h y M. W a r r e n

Publisher 1975-1988 Keith F. Warren

Publisher 1928-1975 W i l l a r d C. W a r r e n

Publisher 1901-1928

T H E N AT I O N ’ S H O U S I N G

Cutbacks in High Debt Ratio Loans Could Hurt Buyers Private Mortgage Insurers Reconsidering Participation

BY KENNETH R. HARNEY WASHINGTON POST COLUMNIST

A KENNETH HARNEY

key policy change by mortgage giant Fannie Mae that offered homeownership to thousands of new buyers – many of them minorities – could face significant cutbacks. The reason: Private mortgage insurers are re-thinking their decisions to participate.

The change, which took effect last July, allowed borrowers with debt-to-income (DTI) ratios as high as 50 percent to obtain low down payment mortgages. Homeownership advocates generally welcomed the move, arguing that it could open the marketplace to credit-worthy families who simply carry high debt loads. A study by the Urban Institute predicted it could stimulate 95,000 new home purchases a year nationwide, especially among Latinos and AfricanAmericans, who have higher DTIs on average than other buyers.

Debt-to-income is a crucial factor in mortgage underwriting and is one of the biggest reasons for application rejections. It measures borrowers’ recurring monthly debts – credit card bills, auto loan payments, rent, etc. – against their gross monthly income. As a general rule, the lower your DTI, the better your chances at being approved for a loan. If your DTI is exceptionally high, with credit payments eating a hefty chunk of your income, you’re considered more likely to encounter financial strains and miss mortgage payments.

The federal government’s maximum DTI for a “qualified mortgage” is 43 percent. Fannie Mae, the single largest source of mortgage money in the U.S., has in recent years stretched that limit to 45 percent and sometimes beyond when borrowers had compensating factors in their applications, such as a high credit score or substantial cash reserves. In its push to raise the ceiling to 50 percent DTI, Fannie noted that all the loans would have to pass the standard tests of its automated underwriting system, which are designed to flag or reject excessive credit risks.

In the intervening months, the relaxed DTI requirement attracted increasing numbers of new buyers. Fannie Mae won’t say how many precisely, but in its most recent quarterly securities filing it acknowledged that it had grown to 20 percent of new purchase loan acquisitions. In all of 2016, by comparison, the proportion had been just 5 percent. But as the numbers rose, concerns began to mount among some of the private mortgage insurance companies who play

an essential role in all of Fannie Mae’s low down payment mortgage programs. On loans where borrowers put less than 20 percent down, these companies insure against defaults – essentially taking a portion of the risk of loss from default in exchange for premium payments from the borrower.

An Ominous Trend

Several major insurers say they began detecting an ominous trend last fall: Too many of the applicants being approved presented multiple risks, including credit scores indicating previous payment problems, low or no financial reserves to fall back on in the event of a budget squeeze, plus low down payments. Mike Zimmerman, a spokesman for one major insurer, MGIC, told me in an interview that past experience has shown that “layering” of multiple risks like these produced 30 percent to 50 percent higher rates of default, opening the door to unacceptably high future losses for the company and potential financial disasters for borrowers.

“We’ve seen this movie before,” he said, “so we don’t think it’s right.” MGIC stopped insuring mortgages with debt ratios above 45 percent March 1, unless they come with FICO credit scores of 700 or higher. Essent Guaranty announced a similar policy effective March 12.

Genworth Mortgage Insurance says it plans to do the same starting March 19. Radian Guaranty Inc., another big player, is taking a slightly different approach, banning certain high DTI loans where the down payment is less than 5 percent.

Radian said in a statement that it will “continue to monitor these applications and assess any need for further changes.”

For its part, Fannie Mae acknowledged the problem in its most recent quarterly securities filing and said it plans to revise its automated underwriting system’s treatment of high DTI loan applications that carry multiple layers of risk. As a result of the revisions, Fannie said, it expects to approve fewer high DTI mortgages with multiple risk factors than in recent months.

Some lenders say the reductions could frustrate home purchase opportunities this spring for families across the country. “If they (the insurers) are going to have 700-plus (FICO) scores as the driving force,” said Joe Petrowsky of RightTrac Financial Group, “that will affect a lot of prospective buyers. Minorities will get hurt for sure.”

Ken Harney’s email address is Harneycolumn@gmail.com

MARCH 19, 2018

BANKER & TRADESMAN | 5

OPINION COMPLIANCE CORNER

Non-Qualified Mortgage Risks Were Never Regulatory

Despite No Change to Rule, Non-QM Mortgages Worthy of Consideration

BY BENJAMIN GIUMARRA SPECIAL TO BANKER & TRADESMAN

W BENJAMIN GIUMARRA

hen the CFPB’s Ability-to-Repay/Qualified Mortgage rule took effect in January 2014, many lenders shied away from doing anything other than fully protected “qualified mortgages.” The rule – which makes it illegal to provide a residential mortgage loan without a “good faith” determination that the borrower has a “reasonable” ability to repay the loan – encouraged these “QMonly” policies by presenting vague, and potentially serious, risks for non-compliance.

But though the rule hasn’t change in the four years since, it may be time to reconsider non-QM mortgages.

New Leadership at CFPB

Should the non-QM flood gates open with the exit of Richard Cordray? No. In fact, nothing the regulatory agencies do – aside from changing the actual rules – should have much, if any, impact on your decision to enter non-QM lending.

The real risks associated with non-QM lending have never been regulatory. Banking regulators are generally invested in the success of the regulated institutions that are knowledgeable in the subject matter and therefore relatively reasonable to work with. And their approach to this regulation, which places special demands on the expertise required of examiners, has been reasonable. If anything, more intensive regulatory examinations would serve only to help institutions by identifying issues that may ultimately become private matters.

The real risk with non-QM has always been the opportunity for private enforcement. The ability-torepay argument can be raised in defense of a foreclosure for the life of the loan. Arguing around soft standards such as “good faith” and “reasonable” can

quickly become costly in a courtroom.

Early on when your prudential regulator probably promised to go easy on you regarding ATR/QM compliance for a period, that reassurance was just cold comfort – the real risk of ATR/QM is not in regulatory penalties, but instead in the decreased liquidity and increased liability risks arising out of the consumer’s ability to challenge any ATR determination for the life of the loan. Maybe we trusted the regulators to cut us some slack, but we couldn’t rely on the same from the borrower’s attorney five years down the road in a foreclosure action.

ATR/QM in the Courts

Unfortunately (fortunately?), there have been no court battles surrounding the ATR/QM regulation that might shed light more specifically on how this will be interpreted. That being said, for those of us who studied the original rules closely, there were many more helpful details included than many people cared to discuss. That same information gives us a fairly clear roadmap towards safe non-QM lending … it’s just that there’s nothing at all new about that.

I would have told you the same thing in 2013 before the rule even took effect.

Part of this is just because we haven’t seen too many loans originated post-2014 in foreclosure actions yet. It’s still relatively early on and the performance of these loans has been relatively strong.

Perhaps that’s due to the economy alone, or perhaps the CFPB’s rules, along with an industry correction to the problems that caused the Great Recession, deserve some credit.

Also, remember that many “small creditors” – those that originate 2,000 or fewer mortgages per year for sale – have essentially been offering “nonQM” loans all along, subject to the requirement to hold them in portfolio for at least three years. It

S H A R I N G E C O N O M Y E X PA N D S

Bike Share System Recognizes Significant Growth Bikes on the Path to Measurable Impact

BY WILLIAM F. LYONS JR. SPECIAL TO BANKER & TRADESMAN

A WILLIAM LYONS

few short years ago, the nascent sharing economy for transportation included car share services like ZipCar. This was big news at the time. Early car share success in Cambridge and Somerville rapidly expanded to become a global enterprise. Bike share services are now following the same path.

To be sure, bikes are not cars. For suburban dwellers, cars are an unfortunate necessity for all but the most enthusiastic bikers. In rural environments, bike travel is unsafe for most people who might bike to their daily destinations. As a result, the bike share movement does not have the same cache as a car share service outside of our more dense urban environments.

In the city, however, bike sharing makes economic as well as lifestyle sense. A well distributed bike share system on par with car sharing in terms of the number and density of stations makes the service a very convenient option. Factoring in the amount of time it takes to retrieve a car from parking, drive to your destination, park again and pay for your parking, bike sharing is more efficient and more cost effective. Which is why the service is becoming very popular in Boston.

Bike share programs started in the 1960s in Europe. Bike sharing finally caught hold in the United States in 2008, when Washington, D.C.,

introduced SmartBike DC. The program was relaunched in 2010 as Capital BikeShare, and bike share systems expanded to Minneapolis and Denver. This set the stage for a revolution in the way bike transportation was viewed in the United States.

Enter Hubway

Greater Boston’s bike share service, known as Hubway, has enjoyed tremendous success. Now known as “Blue Bike” due to a sponsorship arrangement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the Hubway service began in 2011.

It has expanded to more than 185 stations and more than 1,800 bikes. The service spans Boston, Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville. The service has more than 10,000 annual memberships and tens of thousands of daily rentals.

Many Bostonians believe that biking is not a viable mode of travel due to New England’s notoriously challenging weather. This has proved not to be the impediment that people think it should be.

Besides European success in cold weather and snowy climates (such as Copenhagen, Denmark), weather in the United States has proven itself not to be an impediment to mass bike share adoption in the United States. Boston’s success in generating 10,000 year-round memberships demonstrates that bike share is not a seasonal phenomenon.

As a Bostonian, I take great pleasure know-

hasn’t happened yet, but one thing that would be very interesting would be to see some large transfers of these seasoned loans to the secondary market after the three-year waiting period has expired.

Four Years Later

My own stance hasn’t changed much since 2014.

Non-QM does not mean sub-prime, and there are plenty of high-quality loans to be made in the nonQM space. Whether any particular lender should enter non-QM lending just depends on its own strategy and ability to limit the risks involved. Assume your bank wants to do 40-year mortgages (the 40year term automatically making these non-QM). If there’s a demand for this product in your area, if you can charge enough to offset any additional risks, if you can point to historically strong performance with these loan types, and if you can button up your ability-repay-determination, there’s no reason not to offer it.

Some of the best ways to protect against non-QM risk include: prioritizing ATR/QM compliance in your quality assurance programs; having strong checklists to document the ATR determination; developing a clear regulation-specific procedure for this rule; supporting any non-QM products with research on the historical soundness of the applicable underwriting standards; and adding a residual income requirement (at least for loans you’re particularly worried about, such as for all non-QM or for all rebuttable presumption QM).

The ATR rule is a minimum baseline set by regulators and QM is merely a convenient benchmark for documenting compliance. I would argue that good financial institutions have the obligation to go beyond this, to decipher for itself what constitutes a “good” loan. Automatically refusing to originate loans outside of the QM benchmark is a disservice to those borrowers who have a reasonably ability to repay.

In the same way, automatically approving loans that meet QM status is a disservice to borrowers who, for reasons more sophisticated than a regulation could state, don’t have a reasonable ability to repay.

Ben Giumarra is an attorney and director of quality assurance at Embrace Home Loans, where he supports direct mortgage lending activities along with Embrace’s partnerships with various financial institution. He may be reached at bgiumarra@embracehomeloans.com.

ing that New York City launched its bike share program in 2013 – two years after we introduced our bike share system. Today, New York’s system includes 142 stations and 12,000 bikes. For a city like New York, 12,000 new bikes on the road is a significant benefit! In bike sharing, Boston and New York are roughly equal.

When Boston prepared its most recent citywide transportation plan, known as Go Boston 2030, the city announced an ambitious goal to expand the bike share program. As part of that process, the city solicited public input as to where new bike stations should be installed to best service the city’s residents. The city now plans to refine the list of new stations to identify a total of 70 new bike stations to take the bike share program to the next level.

The new partnership with Blue Cross and Blue Shield represents another major evolution in the development of the city’s bike share system. The partnership, which includes all of the municipalities, aspires to add enough bikes to bring the number of bikes in the system to 3,000 over the next year. Blue Bikes represents a notable expansion of Blue Cross and Blue Shield into the sponsorship of bike share programs, which includes the bike share system in New Orleans. With the obvious connection between biking and health, it is no surprise that Blue Cross and Blue Shield have expanded their sponsorship of bike share programs over time.

As Hubway/Blue Bike enters its next expansion phase, the trend is unmistakable. Bike sharing is not only here to stay; it offers a huge opportunity to expand mobility options in our urban environments. Getting around the city is changing in very profound ways. As the city evolves, emerging modes of transportation will be essential to make our city move. Bike share is absolutely a key component of our new mobility systems.

William F. Lyons Jr is president and CEO of the Fort Hill Cos.

6 | BANKER & TRADESMAN

MARCH 19, 2018

BY THE NUMBERS COUNTY CLOSE-UP SPOTLIGHT: Lakeville

PLYMOUTH

POPULATION 10,602

Ocean Spray is headquartered in Lakeville.

DENSITY 290 per square mile

YEAR SETTLED 1717

MEDIAN SALE PRICE

Community

TOTAL AREA 36.1 square miles

TOTAL NUMBER OF HOUSING UNITS 4,177

“It’s fun to play this character ... I get to swim in the bog a lot and drop lots of things in, and Henry gets to react in his stoic way to those hijinks.”

STATISTICAL SNAPSHOT

Jan. 2018

YEAR INCORPORATED AS A TOWN 1853

TAX RATES Residential: $13.59 Commercial: $13.59

Change from 2017

— Justin Hagan, actor in commercials for Lakeville-headquartered Ocean Spray

SALE VOLUME Jan. 2018 Change from 2017

Abington

$274,500 -8.47% 6 -14.29%

Bridgewater

$410,000 13.89% 16 6.67%

Brockton

$279,500 11.80% 63 -17.11%

Carver

$369,500 30.82% 10 0.00%

Duxbury

$799,000 21.98% 9 -10.00%

$400,000 400000

East Bridgewater

$331,285

28.57%

$300,000 300000

N/A

$200,000 200000

Halifax

21.80%

N/A

9

N/A N/A

Hanover

$565,000 18.79% 13 30.00%

Hanson

$350,000 17.65% 7 0.00%

Hingham

$811,000 11.10% 18 -5.26%

Hull

N/A

N/A N/A

MEDIAN SALE PRICES $500,000 500000

$100,000 100000

00

N/A

2008 ’09

2009 ’10

2010 ’11

2011 ’12

$387,500 7.04% 10 42.86%

• Graph based on single-family home sales of $1,000 and above, excluding condominiums and foreclosure deeds

Lakeville

$192,500 -28.70% 7 -22.22%

• Source: The Warren Group

Marion

$285,000 -32.54% 5 25.00%

Marshfield

$356,000 -16.73% 14 -46.15%

Mattapoisett

$475,000 -5.00% 5 0.00%

Middleboro

$322,000 4.21% 20 150.00%

Norwell

$665,000 -12.96% 7 -22.22%

Pembroke

$437,500 28.68% 18 20.00%

Plymouth

$360,000 5.11% 49 11.36% N/A

N/A N/A

N/A

Rochester

$347,775 -12.18% 5 25.00%

Rockland

$333,000 25.66% 13 44.44%

Scituate

$568,000 -7.49% 23 -4.17%

Wareham

$243,700 10.77% 22 4.76%

West Bridgewater

$280,000

Whitman

$285,000 18.75% 9 80.00%

Plymouth County

$342,000

-28.57%

7.21%

5

367

• Statistics based on single-family home sales of $1,000 and above, excluding condominiums and foreclosure deeds • Source: The Warren Group

Street Address Community

Buyer Seller

1

20 Wood Island Rd.

Peter J. Marathas

Scituate

Beachcomber RT

2

30 Sippican Ln.

A. Benedict Cosimi

Marion

Lars V. Olson

3

20 Marshall St.

Gay E. Shanahan 2016 T.

Duxbury

Michael S. Juliano

4

195 Standish St.

Michael T. Twomey

Duxbury

195 Standish Street LLC

5

6 Prospect Ave.

Timothy J. Horan

Scituate

Christopher J. Cento

• November 2017-January 2018 • New Construction Excluded • Source: The Warren Group

2015 ’16

1 2 3

800

800

640

640

Lender

Organization

Richard Kertzman

First Republic Bank

Meghan Rooney

Rockland Credit Union

Kevin M. Byrne

Blue Hills Bank

Ranked by volume of loans through January

480

480

TOP 3 MORTGAGE LENDERS TOP 3 MORTGAGE LENDERS | Norfolk

320

320

Rank

160

160

0

2017 ’18

TOP 3 LOAN ORIGINATORS | Norfolk

Rank

0

2016 ’17

TOP LOAN ORIGINATORS

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 ’09

’10

’11

’12

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

’18

• All sales thru January • Graph based on single-family home sales of $1,000 and above, excluding condominiums and foreclosure deeds

1 2 3

• Source: The Warren Group

TOP 10 EXISTING HOME SALES | Norfolk TOP 10 EXISTING HOME SALES Rank

2014 ’15

Massachusetts Plymouth

SALE VOLUME

25.00%

-0.81%

2013 ’14

• All sales thru January

Kingston

Plympton

2012 ’13

Date Price

Rank

Street Address Community

Lender

Percent of Market Share

Quicken Loan Inc.

6.72%

Rockland Trust Co.

4.28%

LoanDepot.Com LLC

4.07%

Rankings and Mortgage Market Share stats include purchase and refinance mortgages for single-family homes through January • Market share percentage based on volume of mortgages • Source: The Warren Group

Buyer Seller

Date Price

11/30/2017 $3,550,000

6

12 Widows Cove Ln.

Anthony Prevett Jr.

11/27/2017

Wareham

Michael A. Fitzgerald

$2,110,000

1/31/2018 $3,200,000

7

10 Olmsted Dr.

Mchardy FT

1/12/2018

Hingham

Owen E. Oneill

$2,100,000

1/26/2018 $2,483,000

8

4 Mann St.

Nathaniel Miles

12/8/2017

Hingham

Edward B. Follen

$2,050,000

1/16/2018 $2,265,000

9

45 Cedar St.

John P. Burke

11/15/2017

Duxbury

Brendan Kissane

$2,000,000

11/13/2017 $2,200,000

10

75 Moorings Rd. Marion

Carmine A. Martignetti John H. Cunningham III

11/17/2017 $2,000,000

MARCH 19, 2018

BANKER & TRADESMAN | 7

IN PERSON

Humor, Housing and Humanity

parents. I worked for Marvin Poor and Co., a real estate tax firm downtown. I just wanted a job, where I only had to answer the phone and say, “Hi, thanks for calling.”

Shortly after I started working there, the woman who had been handling all the lowincome tax abatements ended up going out on maternity leave and the person who ran the department told me I was going to run it while she was gone. That was my entre into housing. After several years, I left and taught nursery school for a while.

When I was 25, I applied for an executive director (ED) job at Christmas in April (which later rebranded as Building Together) and I worked for them for 10 years

Q:

Applying for a job as an ED at 25 years old is pretty bold. Did you have any experience with budgets or revenue project?

A:

It was. I had run development programs for kids in high school. I had done a lot of volunteer work, but truthfully, I think what I’ve learned is that it’s not always about your experience, it’s about your ability to adapt and your desire to learn. They took a risk on me as a young ED. They do home renovations for low-income seniors, enabling them to remain in their homes. I remember sitting and the interview committee basically asked me about my experience with fundraising and budgets. I told them what I knew how to do and what I didn’t and I told them I was willing to learn and at the end of the day, if they hired me, we’d both be successful together. I think that’s what got me the job.

The first day I sat down and said to myself, “If we’re going to do renovations, we’re going to need people and money.” The only way it was going to work is to involve corporations. So, I turned the computer on and started calling people. It taught me the importance of relationships in business. I learned that anything is surmountable if you have a plan and know what you’re doing. We grew the program from a signature event on a Saturday in April where we’d mobilize 1,000 people on 25 projects to a year-round program and increased staff.

After 10 years I felt it was time for a change and I did some consulting for Project Hope, which is a nonprofit that focuses on transitional housing and empowering women to move out of the shelter system. Then I went back into the for-profit sector for Richard White & Sons Construction, doing strategy and development, which kept me in the building and proposal space. I learned about RFPs. I worked there for three years. Then my current position opened up and to be honest I didn’t think I wanted it. I wondered if it was the time to get out of construction. It was just after the crash. I came here in 2010 and it’s been seven years.

Q: A:

What is it that most people don’t understand about Habitat for Humanity?

We’re a mortgage program like any other. We are a bank and a lender. We don’t give houses away. We don’t house the poor. Our families have to work to qualify and pay their mortgages. We are a “friendly” 40B developer.

MARTINE TAYLOR Title: Executive Director, South Shore Habitat for Humanity Age: 44 Experience: 30 years

BY JIM MORRISON BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF

M

artine Taylor took a job as a receptionist after earning a degree in family studies; she thought she’d go back and get a master’s degree in social work, but never did. She’s spent most of her professional life in the nonprofit sector and when she’s not working, she’s often volunteering

Q: A:

for housing-related causes. She enjoys spending time in Southern Maine and says she’s racked up a lot of miles driving around to see her vast network of friends and family. She’s worked since she was 10 years old and loves finding new things to make her smile – or even better, laugh.”

What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?

That’s a tough call, but I would say something George Downey, the founder of Harbor Mortgage who interviewed me for my first nonprofit executive director job told me: “People give to people, not to organizations.” It has stayed with me ever since.

Q: A:

Have you always worked in the nonprofit sector?

I’ve had a few experiences in the for-profit world. I started my career as a receptionist out of college, not wanting to get a “real” job, much to the chagrin of my

Our families have to provide sweat-equity on their house and the houses of others.

They also have to be ambassadors for the program. In the old days we’d wait for towns or private parties to donate a property. Now, municipalities are calling us to say they have tracts of land and asking us to consider being their developer. We’re currently building a home in Duxbury that we’ll finish in June. We have a six-unit development that we’ll start clearing soon. We have a property in Hingham we can use to develop up to three units. We like that size, three to six units. We’re the only developer out there that can build a simple, decent, affordable home and sell it for about half of what it’s worth because we don’t pay for labor and we get so much of the materials donated. We get properties that aren’t desirable to a mid- to high-end builder. Our goal isn’t to become more profitable. Our goal is to increase workforce housing. It’s not low-income housing. We technically do anywhere from one to five units a year. Our goal is to have 12 done by 2020. We’ve done 58 in the last 30 years. We hope to do that same number in the next 10 to 15 years.

In the old days, you’d get a piece of property, you’d build a house by-right and it was great. Now we are doing comprehensive permits for single-family homes because local zoning has changed. I think that’s one of the biggest challenges now.

No one wants 300 apartments on a 10,000-square foot lot, but they certainly would like to see a single-family home there. We can’t do things like we did them in the old days because the commonwealth has a shortage of 99,000 units of housing. This includes mansions, affordable housing, transit-oriented development. We can’t just say we don’t want affordable housing. Affordable doesn’t mean people don’t pay. They work, and having affordable housing is an economic driver. Companies understand they need to invest in housing or they won’t have workers. It’s not about the affordable piece, it’s about companies having access to a workforce that’s committed, recruited and sustained

Q: A:

That can be a hard sell. What if we don’t build more new housing?

We’ll be Detroit. If families can’t afford to live here, they’re not going to take jobs here. Habitat mortgages are approximately $800 per month. Now you can live in the community and you’re investing back. We can’t continue this trend.

TAYLOR’S FIVE FAVORITE THINGS:

1

Being by the ocean

2

Dogs – they really are the world’s best companions

3

Humor – belly laughing – we don’t do it enough

4

Spicy foods, bold wine and dirty martinis

5

Surrounding herself with loving and caring people

8 | BANKER & TRADESMAN

MARCH 19, 2018

RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE

Buyers Flock to Previously Overlooked Cities Continued from Page 1

something on the market and it’s gone in five days. It’s so thin for inventory. People know they have to come in high. It’s never been like this, not even in the boom times before the crash.”

Medford is Somerville on a Budget

Photo by Jim Morrison | Banker & Tradesman Staff

“We have the casino being built,” Piazza said. “That’s part of it, but the main reason is that Charlestown, Somerville and Cambridge are all maxed out and that drives buyers and investors into Everett.”

Piazza spoke to Banker & Tradesman on a Friday afternoon. He said he had just listed a three-family house for $749,000 that would have sold in the $400s five years ago.

He planned to hold an open house over the weekend and predicted the house would sell in a day. He said he expected about 20 groups to walk though.

“I had over 30 groups through,” he said a few days after the open house. “I got six offers, five of them above the asking price.

Two investors offered well over the asking price and it’s under agreement with no contingencies and a huge down payment. The seller feels great. The buyer is thrilled. I’m thrilled and somewhat shocked. It’ll work out even if the appraisal comes in low. This is just what the market is demanding.”

Everett has everything going for it that Charlestown had before its renaissance in the 1990s, Piazza said – and it’s a whole lot less expensive. The median sale price of a single-family home in Everett was $405,000 in 2017. In Charlestown, it was $947,500, down 18 percent from the previous year.

A lot of it has to do with location and ease of transportation, Piazza said; “the Orange Line nearby. There are buses that go into Haymarket. The Blue Line goes through Revere, which is next door. If you go off-hours, it takes 10 minutes to get to the heart of Boston, just like Charlestown, except we have a lot of off-street parking.

The people who work in Everett – police officers, firefighters, teachers – are buying.

57-59 Bainbridge St. in Malden, a two-family currently on the market for $769,900.

Anyone who desires to own a multifamily house is coming here.”

Can’t Afford Boston? Try Malden

The single-family median home price in Malden jumped 17 percent from $379,500 in 2016 to $443,000 last year. Condominiums near public transportation in that workingclass town can sell for more than $500,000.

“The amount of building they’ve done downtown in Malden is crazy,” said Dan Fabbri of Century 21 Advance. “Buyers who’ve been priced out of Boston, Cambridge and Somerville are pouring into Malden.”

Buyers are just three stops up the Orange Line from Charlestown at a fraction of the cost, he said.

“I just sold a three-family in Malden for

$900,000,” Fabbri said. “Two-families selling for between $700,000 and $800,000 isn’t unrealistic, depending on how close they are to the T. You can still live in one unit and have the other unit cover most of your mortgage if it’s got three bedrooms, same idea as the old days. It’s a function of the interest rates.

At some point this year, I believe we’ll see it plateau.”

Fabbri has worked through several cycles in his three decades selling real estate in the area, but nothing prepared him for this market. People move to Everett now because they know money from the casino will be used to improve the schools and infrastructure.

“I would never have thought prices in Everett would go this high,” Fabbri said. “I put

GOSSIP REPORT

Osterville

Address: 251 Seapuit Road, Osterville

Buyer: Kevin P. Starr

Price: $11,250,000

Sold: 2/21/18 Agent: Paul Grover, Robert Paul Properties Inc.

Size: 8,931 square feet on 5.2 acres

2

3

4

Buyer: Arthur Schwabe and Kelly Schwabe Seller: Robert H. Sniderman Sold: 2/20/18

Boston

Address: 728 Tremont St. #5, Boston Price: $4,750,000 Size: 4,729 square feet

4

5

Buyer: Barbara J. Deborde and Robert S. Deborde Seller: Louis M. Jannetty and Susan E. Jannetty Sold: 2/23/18

Lincoln

Address:18 Page Road, Lincoln Price: $4,000,000 Size: 12,291 square feet on 12.01 acres

2

Buyer: Lang Hallett Gerhard Seller: 740 Tremont LLC Sold: 2/22/18

Duxbury

Address: 156 Marshall St., Duxbury Price: $4,250,000 Size 7,139 square feet on 2.57 acres

1

Compiled by Jim Morrison, residential real estate reporter.

Seller: Margaret Walsh-Sullivan

Nantucket

Address: 8 Caroline Way, Nantucket Price: $7,300,000 Size: 1,837 square feet on 1.5 acres

3

Email: jmorrison@thewarrengroup.com

The home in this week’s top spot went on the market in August 2017 for $18.5 million and dropped to $14.95 million 10 weeks later. Located on a private peninsula jutting into Nantucket Sound, it ultimately sold for 40 percent off the original asking price. It has eight bedrooms, seven full bathrooms, a 155-foot-long deep-water dock, water views and easy access to Wianno and Oyster Harbors clubs.

1

5

Medford, too, he said is hot, although for different reasons. There the median price of a single-family home in 2017 was $581,000, up 14 percent from the previous year. The median price of a single family in Somerville was $722,500, up 12 percent from 2016.

Fabbri expects this year will bring more impressive gains in Medford.

“Medford, in my mind, is far and away the nicest of the three cities,” Fabbri said. “I just sold a three-family in Medford a few streets over from Somerville for a $1.2 million. That set a new mark. Two-families are going over for a million. Medford is almost the new Somerville. A different demographic is coming into Medford. Someone who is a little more established and priced out of Somerville.”

Fabbri’s listings sold in an average of eight days last year. His secret is no secret – he suggests pricing the property a little below what comparable properties are selling for to draw as many potential buyers as possible into an open house, and let them bid against each other for a couple of days.

“I have a small two-bedroom in Medford I just listed for $430,000 and that will be the least expensive single-family for sale in the city,” Fabbri. “It’ll go for $450,000 to $460,000. If you grab a listing, you’re guaranteed a paycheck. There just isn’t enough inventory.“

Buyer: Boston Unibo Corp.

Seller: Michael Pehl and Randa J. Pehl Sold: 2/20/18

MARCH 19, 2018

BANKER & TRADESMAN | 9

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

HOT PROPERTY

TIME IS MONEY

Legal Battle Sidetracks MGM Springfield Rival Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun Try to Protect Turf

BY STEVE ADAMS BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF

C

onnecticut politicians and Native American tribal leaders swung mallets during a demolition ceremony at a vacant cinema complex in East Windsor, the Nutmeg State’s chosen site for a satellite casino designed to head off competition from MGM Springfield.

The $960 million downtown Springfield casino is scheduled for completion this fall, and the owners of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos had hoped to begin welcoming gamblers to their own joint venture in advance of STEVE ADAMS MGM’s opening. But unexpected federal regulatory roadblocks have held up the East Windsor groundbreaking indefinitely.

At this month’s ceremony, leaders of the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes said they expect a lawsuit they filed against the U.S. Department of the Interior to be decided this year in their favor. But a drawn-out court battle promises to bolster MGM Springfield’s market share and further cut into the Connecticut casinos’ revenues, which peaked a decade ago.

“Any delay is going to help MGM,” said Jacob Raver, an attorney for Boston-based law firm Goodwin.

The two Connecticut tribes cite a consultant’s study predicting that new casinos in the Northeast will cost them over $700 million in annual revenues, including $100 million that they pay the state of Connecticut under revenue-sharing agreements dating back to the early 1990s.

Along with the Springfield project, the Connecticut casinos face growing competition in upstate New York, where the $1.2 billion Resorts World Catskills casino opened in February. Mohegan Sun came up short in its attempts to break into Greater Boston, where the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in 2014 picked Wynn Resorts’ Everett site over the Mohegans’ proposal for a resort casino at Suffolk Downs.

Mohegan Sun is challenging that decision in Suffolk Superior Court while the $2.4 billion Wynn Boston Harbor casino continues construction.

Uniting Against the Competition

After absorbing rising competition in a Northeast casino market they once had all to themselves, the owners of the rival Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos formed their first joint venture in 2015. The tribes scouted sites along the I-91 corridor between Hartford and the Massachusetts border.

“We’re seeing the effects of market saturation in this region, and Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun are looking to find some way to stem the flow of cash back to Massachusetts,” said Paul DeBole, professor of political science at Lasell College in Newton. “It’s a good business strategy.”

The “demolition ceremony” took place instead of a groundbreaking because the tribes still need approval from the U.S. Department of the Interior to begin construction of Connecticut’s first Native American-owned casino not located on tribal lands. The tribes and state of Connecticut filed suit in November against the interior department after it failed to take action on an amendment to Indian gaming compacts

needed for the East Windsor project to get off the ground.

Each week, Banker & Tradesman commercial real estate reporter Steve Adams spotlights a commercial real estate property in Massachusetts notable for its high deal activity, unique design or one-of-a-kind special features.

WHAT: OXFORD GRAPHICS WHERE: 10 CENTENNIAL DRIVE, PEABODY OWNER: CHILDREN’S EXTENDED DAY CARE INC. BUILT: 1985

A Risky Bet on Expansion

The compacts, approved in 1991 and 1994, granted Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun exclusive rights to operate casinos in Connecticut, in exchange for giving the state a 25 percent cut of all slot machine revenues. The same formula would apply at the East Windsor casino, a 200,000-square-foot facility that would be dwarfed by MGM’s Springfield’s 759,000-square-foot resort.

Proponents of the East Windsor project attribute the federal delays to intense lobbying by MGM on Trump administration officials.

Ken Salazar, who was secretary of the interior under President Barack Obama and is now is a partner at the law firm WilmerHale, argued in a March 2017 letter to Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy that the tribes could jeopardize the existing gaming compact. Describing the

•

•

•

Vantage Builders of Waltham has completed a 28,400-square-foot renovation project for Oxford Graphics’ new offices, production area and warehouse at 10 Centennial Drive.

The label design and printing company, which is owned by Resource Label Group, sought additional space to accommodate growth and relocated from Gloucester.

The Centennial Drive project included demolition work to remove interior finishes from a previous tenant and new private offices, conference room, open format workspaces and production areas.

Utility upgrades included new electrical, plumbing, HVAC, fire protection and compressed air systems.

THEY SAID IT:

Vantage Builders “showed true professionalism and a real desire to get the job done correctly. I particularly appreciate that their creative approach helped reduce the time frame of the project, ensuring that we moved in on time.”

— Tony Passanisi, director of operations, Oxford Graphics

THINK YOUR PROPERTY IS HOT? Drop Steve a line at sadams@thewarrengroup.com

A 200,000-square-foot satellite casino in East Windsor, Connecticut, is intended to protect Foxwoods’ and Mohegan Sun’s market share as MGM Springfield nears completion.

25 percent revenue figure as “unusually high,” Salazar warned that the interior department would be tempted to reduce the state’s share of slot revenues.

Connecticut legislators specifically required the federal review as part of the bill authorizing the third casino, Goodwin’s Raver noted. That may have been a strategy to ensure that the state’s existing revenue share wouldn’t be jeopardized, he said. But in the short term, it may have backfired.

“Why would (lawmakers) add something that could go wrong? The Connecticut legislature didn’t want to gamble at all with the current slot revenue-sharing agreement,” he said.

The federal lawsuit, filed by the tribes and Connecticut Attorney General George Jepson, argues that the amended compact was effectively approved because Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke failed to act on it within 90 days.

Competition from MGM Springfield and other new gambling venues will deliver a major financial blow to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, according to recently updated market research by Clyde Barrow, a professor at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and longtime casino researcher.

A study by Barrow’s consulting company, Pyramid Assoc. LLC, estimates that Connecticut residents will spend over $252 million annually at Massachusetts and New York casinos. The study, commissioned by Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, predicted that could result in the loss of 9,300 jobs at the casinos and in related industries that provide them with goods and services.

Email: sadams@thewarrengroup.com

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10 | BANKER & TRADESMAN

MARCH 19, 2018

BANKING & LENDING T W O - D AY C H E C K I N G

Amazon Checking Account Poses Threat to Community Banks Ecommerce Giant Well Positioned to Attract Young Banking Customers

BY BRAM BERKOWITZ BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF

L

arge ecommerce players like Amazon have upended many industries from retail to entertainment to grocers, forcing businesses in these sectors to adapt or face a future filled with uncertainty.

Now the ecommerce giant is poised to disrupt the banking industry.

Amazon sent shock waves through the financial world last week when news outlets reported that the BRAM BERKOWITZ behemoth is in talks with big banks such as JPMorgan Chase to build its own checking account product, specifically targeting younger users and those without a bank.

News that Amazon is also looking to roll out a credit card for small businesses followed, and the company launched its first debit card offering last week in Mexico.

“Amazon is in the business of selling merchandise. Everything they do feeds into that model,” said Thad Peterson, senior analyst at the Boston-based Aite Group, adding that he does not think Amazon wants to become a full-on bank. “By offering [a checking account product] to the underbanked and unbanked, they are opening a sales channel to a reasonably sized population that would otherwise not purchase stuff online.”

Peterson thinks Amazon will roll out some type of checkless deposit account that comes with a debit card so people can make online purchases, although the card or the currency could be virtual.

Maureen Burns, a partner and leader of the financial services practice group at Boston-based Bain & Co., thinks the move will be multi-faceted, an effort that targets new customers, while also continuing to build brand loyalty.

“It could be for customers without credit, or to create tighter relationships with existing customers,” she told Banker & Tradesman. “Amazon wants to increase the scope in which they interact with existing customers.”

Underbanked vs. Millennials

The less-banked and younger customer populations have two entirely different values to financial institutions.

Seven percent (9 million) of U.S. households in 2015 were unbanked, meaning no one in the household had a checking or savings account, according to the FDIC. An additional almost 20 percent (24.5 million) of U.S. households were underbanked, meaning that the household had an account at an insured institution but also obtained financial services and products outside of the banking system.

While financial institutions do offer products for these populations and stress financial literacy, the numbers – which have im-

proved only marginally since 2011 – show that the underbanked and unbanked are not core to a bank’s business model.

“The truth of the matter is if the banks really wanted to serve the unbanked and underbanked, they would offer a product to serve them,” Peterson said. “Banks can’t take this as a significant threat. Even if this thing is enormously successful, it’s still a little tiny percentage of checking customers in the U.S.” Millennials and younger customers, on the other hand, are highly sought by banks, but still a bit of a mystery to crack.

To be certain, Millennials are using digital banking services.

Nearly two-thirds of all smartphone users in the U.S. have at least one financial app, according to a survey by Bankrate. Seventy percent of survey respondents said they checked their bank’s mobile app at least once a week, while 16 percent of respondents said they checked it daily.

Amazon, Well Positioned

But that doesn’t necessarily mean these customers are safe, particularly the younger ones.

More than two-thirds of participants in a recent study conducted by D3 Banking Technology and Harris Poll said they were frustrated with their digital banking experience and are prepared to walk away from their current financial institution if a better digital experience presents itself.

The survey also found that digital banking users ages 18 to 34 are more likely than those ages 55 and older to be frustrated with their digital banking experience. Seventythree percent of the younger group indicated that they have been frustrated with their digital banking experience over the past year, compared to only 61 percent of adults ages 55 and over.

“When customers buy another banking product, 40 percent are buying from another competitor; they are typically not shopping, but will get an offer,” said Burns. “Primary banks aren’t that great at targeting their customers.”

Amazon, however, has done a superb job of creating brand loyalty, attracting customers to the conglomerate for everything from movies to music to food, not to mention the massive assortment of products shoppers purchase every day.

U.S. and United Kingdom consumers ranked PayPal and Amazon nearly as high as banks for trust with their money, according to a recent study from Bain & Co. In another Bain study, 74 percent of respondents ages 18 to 24 and 68 percent of respondents ages 25 to 34 said they expect to buy a financial product from a technology firm within the next five years.

Bain’s most recent analysis, which came on the heels of news regarding the Amazon checking account, estimates a banking service from Amazon could swell to more than 70 million U.S. customer accounts within five years.

That would equal the size of Wells Fargo, the country’s third largest bank.

“I do think banks need to be worried,” said Burns, adding that she thinks there has been too much reliance on the branch.

“Frankly, they have struggled to create those really good digital experiences.”

Email: bberkowitz@thewarrengroup.com

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Whether high-voltage power transmission or low-voltage lighting, IBEW Local 103 members and NECA contractors ensure your systems work in a safe, effective, and environmentally-sound manner.

Contact us today about your next project: The103Advantage.com and BostonNECA.org

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Glenn Kingsbury Executive Manager NECA Greater Boston 617-969-2521

MARCH 19, 2018

BANKER & TRADESMAN | 11

Can we be your banker?

Goliath banks are like Goliath hamburger chains. That’s the beauty of them. Sort of.

If you’re hankering for the exact same medium-size fries with a shake you get in Dedham, Massachusetts, you can find it—even if you’re in Topeka, Kansas.

The question you have to ask yourself is this: “What is that kind of convenience worth to you?”

And what if a David bank (such as ours) could deliver that kind of convenience in a far more personal way?

Most people want David to win.

Davids look at the person as a person.

Not to overdo the hamburger comparison, but you probably agree there’s something about Dave’s local burger joint that you like: The waitress behind the counter. The cook (who is usually the owner, Dave) working away right in front of you. Your burger done the way you like it.

At Goliath you miss that experience. There’s nobody to talk to. They don’t say hello to you when you walk in. They don’t care how you want your burger done and, even if they did, they have procedures and best practices to guarantee everybody gets the same burger—no matter what you ask for.

Going all the way back to the original David and Goliath, underdog fans have always rooted for David to win.

Why?

When you apply for a mortgage or a small business loan at Needham Bank, you most often talk to someone who actually has the authority to approve it. This is good because the loan begins on friendlier terms and is more likely to continue that way.

Not always, but often, we can provide a better rate on a loan than the Goliaths. (This, by the way, is true of most smaller banks…not just ours.) It’s also the case that Needham frequently offers higher interests rates on money market accounts.

Needham is also the kind of place where you can bring your problems and not have someone ignore or confuse you. Suppose you mistakenly overdraw your checking account. That’s something we can work with you on. Or suppose we make a mistake—not entirely beyond the realm of possibility—we will work quickly and apologetically to remedy it.

Because Davids are less intimidating and easier to work with.

Back to banking.

People think they need a Goliath bank because Goliaths have branches everywhere. Supposedly, this means you are never far from an ATM machine with your bank’s name on it.

Think about this: if you add up all the locations of the top 10 largest banks in the United States, that would account for about 1/3 of all the ATM locations in America.

With a Needham Bank checking account, you can use your Needham Bank debit card at any of those ATMs and at any one of the bank ATMs making up the other 2/3s for FREE. When it comes to ATM “freedom,” we have as many—if not more—free ATMs than any other bank, anywhere. Even if you travel overseas.

The other thing people often think is that Goliaths have the kind of clout that makes it easier to get loans at a favorable interest rate. Huge amounts of money, tons of banking transactions …it all makes sense.

Only it’s not true.

The two questions you should always ask: A.) Do you care to do business with Goliath?

B.) Does Goliath care to do business with you?

Yes. We want to be your banker. We care about doing a good job for you. We can say that and demonstrate it with more certainty than, we believe, the Goliaths can.

More than anything, there’s an element of humanity that comes along with a relationship here at Needham. Basically, people like us because we like them.

In banking, that can make all the difference.

Can we be your banker?

Get started by connecting with Michelle DeSimone. She will meet with you at your home, office, or in any of our branches. Contact Michelle directly at 781-474-5925 or MDeSimone@NeedhamBank.com.

MEMBER FDIC |

EQUAL HOUSING LENDER | MEMBER SIF

© Copyright 2017 Needham Bank. All rights reserved.

2017 TOP LENDERS

MARCH 19, 2018

A SPECIAL SECTION OF BANKER & TRADESMAN 12

Real Estate Stays Strong as Rates Rise

Residential Lenders See Growth in First-Time Homebuyer and Condo Markets

BY BRAM BERKOWITZ BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF

L

ow rates, first-time homebuyers, strong partnerships and marketing continued to spur residential and commercial lending in Massachusetts in 2017.

Every year, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, compiles and shares data on the fastest-growing residential and commercial lenders in Massachusetts.

In the residential sector, Arlington-based Leader Bank charged ahead with single-family mortgages, originating 1,716 loans for a total volume of more than $765 million. But other community banks, including Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank, Blue Hills Bank, Needham Bank and Berkshire Bank, also made the list.

Berkshire Bank’s strong relationships with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with an experienced loan team, were critical to the company’s success, said Paul Gershkowitz, senior vice president of home lending.

The bank’s big splashes in 2017 included the acquisition of Worcester-based Commerce Bank and an announcement that the bank would move its headquarters to Boston.

Berkshire originated 489 single-family loans at roughly $210 million in total volume, according to The Warren Group.

“The first-time homebuyer market is strong, and I think that part of that has to do with the fact that lending is almost like a pendulum – it swings one way and then another,” Gershkowitz told Banker & Tradesman. “The guidelines for first-time homebuyers have loosened over the years, which helped first-time homebuyers in the market.”

Berkshire in 2017 had a particularly strong presence in Western Massachusetts, where the bank used to be headquartered, and inside the I-495 beltway. However, inventory remains low all over the state, particularly in Boston, which continues to be a barrier to entry, Gershkowitz said. Jumbo mortgages have also been strong in recent years, he added.

In addition to single-family purchases, Berkshire also had a strong year in condominium loans.

The bank issued 200 loans in Massachusetts for a total volume of roughly $81.7 million, according to The Warren Group.

For more than 145 years, The Warren Group has been the most trusted and reliable source in New England for real estate property data. The company maintains the most comprehensive property database today due to its long-standing relationships with town assessors, clerks and county registries as well as its extensive daily collection of transaction records in the field.

Transactional data is collected daily, verified, matched to the appropriate property record and posted weekly; it includes sales transfers, mortgages and refinances.

The data in this report represents all purchase and non-purchase loans made by banks, credit

“Low rates certainly help spur the purchase economy and also looking at new housing growth, condos are the strongest area for opportunities for new people to buy,” said Gershkowitz. “Lots of conversations are going on in this area and I really believe having our personnel understand the criteria well helps us be successful in the market.”

Commercial Remains Strong East Boston Savings Bank was the top community bank commercial lender in 2017; the bank originated 49 loans for a total volume of more than $278 million, according to The Warren Group.

The bank has financed major projects all over Boston: It provided $76.35 million in construction financing for the new Boston Celtics practice facility in Brighton; $38.5 million for The Wave, a 132-unit rental complex under construction in Allston; and a $51.4 million construction loan for the Innovation Square Seaport office lab, which is slated for completion in 2019.

But while doing so, EBSB has maintained strong asset quality.

The bank decreased its provision for loan losses from roughly $7.2 million at the end of 2016 to $4.9 million at the end of 2017. Nonperforming assets were $8.4 million at the end of 2017, or 0.16 percent of total assets, the lowest level for the bank since 2006.

“We have a talented lending team and a good reputation; we know the market and when we see something we like, we act on it,” John Migliozzi, executive vice president of commercial lending at EBSB, told Banker & Tradesman. “We look hard at the deal to make sure there is a strong sponsor and a good location. We want people to have equity in the deal.”

EBSB focuses on the area inside Route 128, which consists mostly of the Boston and Greater Boston areas, and is interested in deals of all kinds.

Those can include neighborhood and grocery retail, class B apartments and hospitality.

“It’s been good so far,” Migliozzi said. “But interest rates are starting to go up. Real estate goes in cycles and this has been a pretty long cycle, so we continue to be cautious while looking at the underwriting.”

Align Credit Union has been focused on matching our Members with the right loan since 1922. Thank you to Banker & Tradesman for recognizing us as one of the 2017 Top Lenders in Massachusetts.

MORTGAGES

Whether you need a great rate on a commercial loan or a customized mortgage, speak with our lending team today.

HOME EQUITY LOANS

Email: bberkowitz@thewarrengroup.com unions and mortgage companies in Massachusetts in 2017. Category breakdowns include single-family, multifamily (two-family and threefamily combined), condominium, commercial and residential refinance (non-purchase). Residential and commercial data are not combined in any reports. The commercial data in these reports caps all loans at $1 billion. Each category ranks the top 10 lenders by both dollar volume and number of loans.

For more information, please contact The Warren Group’s customer service department at customerservice@thewarrengroup.com or 617896-5388.

AlignCU.com (800) 942-9575

COMMERCIAL LENDING + AMESBURY + DANVERS + FRAMINGHAM + HAVERHILL + LOWELL + METHUEN + WILMINGTON +

13 | BANKER & TRADESMAN

MARCH 19, 2018

2017 TOP LENDERS Single-Family Purchase Loans

RECOGNIZED AS A TOP LENDER!

Bank # of Purchased Money Loans

by The Warren Group

At East Boston Savings Bank, our experienced lending team is hard at work making sure you get the loan that’s just right for you. If you’re looking to partner with a top lending team, look to EBSB’s proven experienced lenders.

#5

#5

Commercial Loans - Dollar Volume Commercial Loans - Total Quantity

EBSB.com

Mortgage Co.

Leader Bank

1,716

Leader Bank

$765,411,716

Wells Fargo Bank

1,047

Wells Fargo Bank

$608,599,177

Santander Bank

1,013

Bank of America

$511,045,354

RBS Citizens Bank

990

RBS Citizens Bank

$434,774,363

Bank of America

845

Santander Bank

$418,068,552

Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank

835

First Republic Bank

$341,036,947

Randolph Savings Bank

575

Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank $319,363,024

Blue Hills Bank

460

Blue Hills Bank

$227,172,124

Berkshire Bank

448

Berkshire Bank

$190,210,960

Rockland Trust Co.

435

Needham Bank

$177,206,050

Credit Union Volume Purchased Money Loans

Digital Federal Credit Union

393

Digital Federal Credit Union

$118,863,421

Greylock Federal Credit Union

270

Navy Federal Credit Union

$81,380,468

Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union

223

Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union

$79,275,609

Navy Federal Credit Union

217

Harvard University Credit Union $65,355,653

Workers Credit Union

167

Metro Credit Union

$62,622,498

Metro Credit Union

166

Greylock Federal Credit Union

$47,140,976

Harvard University Credit Union

154

Workers Credit Union

$45,229,690

Rockland Credit Union

98

Rockland Credit Union

$30,995,873

St. Mary’s Credit Union

79

St. Mary’s Credit Union

$22,777,505

St. Anne’s Credit Union

79

Central One Federal Credit Union $21,533,615

Mortgage Company # of Purchased Money Loans

Member FDIC Member DIF

Credit Union

Bank Volume Purchased Money Loans

Credit Union # of Purchased Money Loans

Call 800.657.3272 and let’s start working together today.

Bank

Mortgage Company Volume Purchased Money Loans

Guaranteed Rate Inc.

2,461

Guaranteed Rate Inc.

Residential Mortgage Services Inc.

2,268

Fairway Independent Mortgage $714,595,627

$1,077,811,621

Fairway Independent Mortgage

1,984

Residential Mortgage Services Inc. $686,394,563

LoanDepot.Com 1,689

LoanDepot.Com $633,653,370

Mortgage Network Inc.

1,591

Mortgage Network Inc.

$568,545,052

Quicken Loan Inc.

1,044

Salem Five Mortgage Co.

$368,445,423 $335,825,789

United Shore Financial Services

989

Quicken Loan Inc.

Salem Five Mortgage Co.

969

United Shore Financial Services $320,388,729

Radius Financial Group

749

Homebridge Financial Services Inc. $259,667,447

Homebridge Financial Services Inc.

728

Radius Financial Group

$237,175,792

Leader Bank ranked #1 among banks in 2017 in the purchase market for Massachusetts.

Leader Bank’s competitive rates, innovative products, and first class service have earned the trust of Massachusetts realtors.

Join our winning team!

#1 Single Family #1 Condos #1 Multi Family Leader Banked ended 2017 closing $1.8 billion in total mortgage volume.

We seek high-performing, motivated Loan Officers. Contact Jay Tuli at jtuli@leaderbank.com or 781-641-8606.

Thanks to our team for your dedication, hard work, and commitment to our clients.

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation is proud to be recognized as one of the

TOP LENDERS FOR 2017

by The Banker & Tradesman

#2 Single Family Volume #2 Condo Volume and Number of Loans #3 Multi-Family Volume and Number of Loans www.Fairway-NewEngland.com www.leaderbank.com

Copyright©2018 Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation. NMLS#2289. 4750 S. Biltmore Lane, Madison, WI 53718, 1-877-699-0353 Equal Housing Lender. MA Mortgage Broker and Lender License #MC2289.

Lender NMLS# 449250

Copyright©2018 Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation. NMLS#2289. 4750 S. Biltmore Lane, Madison, WI 53718,

1957161

MARCH 19, 2018

BANKER & TRADESMAN | 14

We have the best value for loan officers over any mortgage company in Massachusetts.

PROOF:

#1 #1 #1

in total loans and volume for Single-Family Mortgages in total loans and volume for Condo Mortgages in total volume for Multi-Family Mortgages

Congrats to all of our employees in Massachusetts that helped us fund over $2.4 billion in total volume last year alone.* This can be you. The best get better by working with the best.

Call me now.

Christopher Parker Regional Manager O: (978) 500-2917

Rate.com/christopherparker

cparker@rate.com

301 Edgewater Place, Ste 310, Wakefield, MA 01880

Christopher Parker NMLS ID: 20239; MA - MLO20239 - MC2611 • NMLS ID #2611 (Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org) • MA - Guaranteed Rate, Inc. - Mortgage Lender & Mortgage Broker License MC2 Guaranteed Rate is an Equal Opportunity Employer that welcomes and encourages all applicants to apply regardless of age, race, sex, religion, color, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital or parental status, ancestry, citizenship status, pregnancy or other reason prohibited by law. *Source: Guaranteed Rate’s funded loan data from 2017

15 | BANKER & TRADESMAN

MARCH 19, 2018

2017 TOP LENDERS

2017 TOP LENDERS

Bank Credit Union

Residential Refinance Mortgages

Bank # Refinance Loans

Bank Credit Union Mortgage Co.

Condo Mortgages

Bank # Purchased Money Loans

Mortgage Co. Mortgage Co. # Refinance Loans

Credit Union # Refinance Loans

RBS Citizens Bank

9,914

Digital Federal Credit Union

3,580

Quicken Loan Inc.

Bank of America

7,520

Rockland Credit Union

1,463

LoanDepot.Com 3,297

Santander Bank

5,228

Hanscom Federal Credit Union

1,365

Salem Five Mortgage Co.

1,847

TD Bank

3,384

Metro Credit Union

1,173

Guaranteed Rate Inc.

1,464

Eastern Bank

3,110

Workers Credit Union

978

Fairway Independent Mortgage

1,049

Rockland Trust Co.

2,821

Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union

884

Residential Mortgage Services Inc.

971

Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank

1,803

Direct Federal Credit Union

553

United Shore Financial Services

967

6,024

Wells Fargo Bank

1,737

St. Anne’s Credit Union

550

Nationstar Mortgage

919

Leader Bank

971

Leader Bank

1,662

Central One Federal Credit Union

528

Ditech Financial

896

Wells Fargo Bank

436

Berkshire Bank

1,184

Greylock Federal Credit Union

521

Mortgage Network Inc.

814

Santander Bank

418

Bank of America

360

RBS Citizens Bank

334

RBS Citizens Bank

$2,047,097,779

329

Digital Federal Credit Union

$516,153,108

Quicken Loan Inc.

First Republic Bank

Bank of America

$1,849,624,820

266

Metro Credit Union

$205,920,240

LoanDepot.Com $982,228,655

Blue Hills Bank

Santander Bank

$1,090,054,752

$547,177,218

244

$189,566,871

Guaranteed Rate Inc.

Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank

Rockland Credit Union

TD Bank

$789,472,492

Salem Five Mortgage Co.

$487,518,228

Berkshire Bank

189

Hanscom Federal Credit Union $183,149,251

First Republic Bank

$704,440,235

$342,558,052

155

$164,481,663

Fairway Independent Mortgage

Eastern Bank

Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union

Rockland Trust Co.

$670,022,410

Workers Credit Union

$120,116,553

United Shore Financial Services

$298,495,761

Eastern Bank

$645,300,686

Direct Federal Credit Union

Mortgage Network Inc.

$272,638,974

Wells Fargo Bank

$644,238,152

Harvard University Credit Union $86,313,792

Residential Mortgage Services Inc.

$269,876,028

Leader Bank

$502,563,658

Central One Federal Credit Union $80,459,397

Nationstar Mortgage

$210,628,897

St. Anne’s Credit Union

Ditech Financial

$192,073,110

Bank Volume Purchased Money Loans Leader Bank

$360,725,289

First Republic Bank

$259,328,000

Wells Fargo Bank

$230,077,687

Bank of America

$161,765,430

Santander Bank

$135,623,218

RBS Citizens Bank

$118,531,466

Blue Hills Bank

$117,335,830

Berkshire Bank

$78,713,996

Boston Private Bank

$72,547,112

Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank $65,252,931

Credit Union # of Purchased Money Loans Harvard University Credit Union

154

Digital Federal Credit Union

148

Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union

129

Metro Credit Union

78

Rockland Credit Union

31

RTN Federal Credit Union

30

Navy Federal Credit Union

29

St. Mary’s Credit Union

28

Align Credit Union

28

IC Credit Union

27

Bank Volume Refinance Loans

Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank $451,419,119

$62,671,252

Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union

$35,952,899

Digital Federal Credit Union

$31,099,220

Metro Credit Union

$23,855,856

St. Anne’s Credit Union

$10,170,200

RTN Federal Credit Union

$9,198,569

Navy Federal Credit Union

$8,963,274

Direct Federal Credit Union

$8,303,930

Rockland Credit Union

$8,078,643

Hanscom Federal Credit Union

$6,653,948

Local lender | Dedicated to the community | Committed to you.

Learn more at cambridgesavings.com/careers

1,453

Fairway Independent Mortgage

746

Mortgage Network Inc.

593

LoanDepot.Com LLC

590

Residential Mortgage Services Inc.

568

Salem Five Mortgage Co.

343

United Shore Financial Services

338

Quicken Loan Inc.

258

Washington Trust Mortgage Co.

256

Homebridge Financial Services Inc.

218

Mortgage Company Volume Purchased Money Loans Guaranteed Rate Inc.

$546,775,798

Fairway Independent Mortgage $258,098,926 Mortgage Network Inc.

$194,702,732

LoanDepot.Com $193,972,426 Residential Mortgage Services Inc. $149,256,964 Washington Trust Mortgage Co. $99,671,345 Salem Five Mortgage Co.

$86,900,420

United Shore Financial Services LLC $82,045,897 Quicken Loan Inc.

$64,004,285

Homebridge Financial Services Inc. $58,128,896

$79,737,782

Be part of a team that treats every customer like their only customer.

Mortgage Company # of Purchased Money Loans Guaranteed Rate Inc.

$96,288,195

Mortgage Co. Volume Refinance Loans $1,551,954,796

2017 Banker & Tradesman Top Home Lender in Massachusetts

Credit Union Volume Purchased Money Loans Harvard University Credit Union

Credit Union Volume Refinance Loans

NMLS ID# 543370

MARCH 19, 2018

BANKER & TRADESMAN | 16

2017 TOP LENDERS Multifamily Mortgages

Bank # Purchased Money Loans

Together with our customers, they helped us achieve Top Lender in Massachusetts.

Call our business lenders today!

1-800-642-7515 | www.firstcitizens.org

Credit Union Mortgage Co.

Bank Volume Purchased Money Loans

Leader Bank

192

Leader Bank

Santander Bank

174

Santander Bank

$64,464,813

Rockland Trust Co.

120

Rockland Trust Co.

$60,789,894

RBS Citizens Bank

102

RBS Citizens Bank

$100,062,636

$42,927,081

Randolph Savings Bank

88

Needham Bank

$42,751,500

Sage Bank

86

First Republic Bank

$38,093,350

Blue Hills Bank

62

Cambridge Savings Bank

$31,676,055

Citicorp Mortgage Inc.

59

Blue Hills Bank

$30,344,705

Eastern Bank

53

Hingham Institution for Savings

$28,611,600

Berkshire Bank

52

Eastern Bank

$28,061,722

Credit Union # Purchased Money Loans

Our expertise.

Your success.

Bank

Credit Union Volume Purchased Money Loans

Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union

54

Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union

$33,415,945

Greylock Federal Credit Union

34

Digital Federal Credit Union

$26,847,587

Digital Federal Credit Union

16

Rockland Credit Union

Metro Credit Union

15

Harvard University Credit Union $5,984,350

St. Mary’s Credit Union

14

Metro Credit Union

$5,081,714

St. Anne’s Credit Union

13

Greylock Federal Credit Union

$3,761,793

Harvard University Credit Union

12

RTN Federal Credit Union

$3,671,900

Freedom Credit Union

10

St. Mary’s Credit Union

$3,375,200

$7,315,100

Align Credit Union

9

Central One Federal Credit Union $3,204,000

Holyoke Credit Union

9

Align Credit Union

Mortgage Company # Purchased Money Loans

$2,386,200

Mortgage Company Volume Purchased Money Loans

Residential Mortgage Services Inc.

417

Guaranteed Rate Inc.

$149,174,838

Guaranteed Rate Inc.

324

Residential Mortgage Services Inc.

$129,642,118

Fairway Independent Mortgage

211

Fairway Independent Mortgage

United Shore Financial Services

135

LoanDepot.Com $52,893,682

Mortgage Network Inc.

134

Mortgage Network Inc.

$51,450,414

LoanDepot.Com 128

Salem Five Mortgage Co.

$49,771,735

Salem Five Mortgage Co.

110

United Shore Financial Services

$46,308,352

Caliber Home Loans

100

Caliber Home Loans

$41,554,502

$80,243,898

Merrimack Mortgage Co. Inc.

94

MSA Mortgage

$39,411,101

Cross Country Mortgage Inc

93

Cross Country Mortgage Inc.

$30,928,779

17 | BANKER & TRADESMAN

MARCH 19, 2018

2017 TOP LENDERS Bank

Credit Union Mortgage Co.

Commercial/Retail Mortgages Bank # Purchased Money Loans Rockland Trust Co.

87

Eastern Bank

73

Enterprise Bank & Trust Co.

67

Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank

55

East Boston Savings Bank

49

Bank of America

48

Main Street Bank

47

Leader Bank

46

TD Bank

42

RBS Citizens Bank

35

CONGRATULATES ALL OF THE 2017 TOP LENDERS

Bank Volume Purchased Money Loans Manufacturers and Traders Trust Co. $1,350,000,000 Royal Bank of Canada

$855,745,590

Key Bank

$412,762,000

Wells Fargo Bank

$407,078,813

East Boston Savings Bank

$278,281,033

Capital One Bank

$158,872,500

Blue Hills Bank

$134,328,885

Eastern Bank

$127,538,120

TD Bank

$111,860,275

Main Street Bank

$100,517,372

Credit Union # Purchased Money Loans Digital Federal Credit Union

32

St. Anne’s Credit Union

23

Greylock Federal Credit Union

13

First Citizens Federal Credit Union

12

Rockland Credit Union

9

Metro Credit Union

9

Pawtucket Credit Union

9

Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union

8

Webster First Federal Credit Union

8

Align Credit Union

8

#1 for total number of commercial mortgages for three straight years

Credit Union Volume Purchased Money Loans Teachers Federal Credit Union $110,800,000 Digital Federal Credit Union

$81,917,350

St. Anne’s Credit Union

$20,744,120

Rockland Credit Union

$10,021,000

Metro Credit Union

$8,944,850

St. Mary’s Credit Union

$5,711,280

Greylock Federal Credit Union

$5,006,901

Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union

$4,459,750

Navigant Credit Union

$3,565,250

Treating customers right is our first priority. Perhaps that’s why we closed more commercial mortgages than any other bank in Massachusetts in 2015, 2016 and 2017. To all of our customers, thank you for choosing Rockland Trust.

Webster First Federal Credit Union $3,008,500

Mortgage Company # Purchased Money Loans Salem Five Mortgage Co.

47

Residential Mortgage Services Inc.

44

Fairway Independent Mortgage

25

Guaranteed Rate Inc.

21

LoanDepot.Com 15 United Shore Financial Services

12

Cross Country Mortgage Inc.

8

Merrimack Mortgage Co. Inc.

8

Endeavor Capital

7

Mortgage Network Inc.

7

Mortgage Company Volume Purchased Money Loans Morgan Stanley

$195,768,000

CBRE Capital Markets Inc.

$176,650,000

Salem Five Mortgage Co.

$83,923,104

Walker & Dunlop

$62,388,000

Let’s start a conversation to see how we can help your business.

781.982.6830

Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. $43,500,000 Rialto Mortgage Finance

$22,200,000

Greystone Servicing Corp.

$20,053,000

Property & Casualty Initiative

$19,732,500

M&T Realty Capital Corp.

$18,785,000

Red Mortgage Capital

$18,283,900

Member FDIC. Ranking Published in the Banker & Tradesman “Top Lenders,” March 2016, March 2017 & March 2018.

Rockland Trust ranked #1 for number of purchased money loans in Commercial Mortgages category.

MARCH 19, 2018

BANKER & TRADESMAN | 18

REGISTER TODAY! www.greatcushow.com

WORCESTER, MAS SACHUSETTS

5.08.18

MAY 8, 2018

WE’RE BACK AGAIN FOR ANOTHER EXCITING YEAR.

600+ ATTENDEES

32

SPONSORS

50+ EXHIBITORS

18 SESSIONS

WHEN:

8:00 AM - 3:45 PM

WHERE:

DCU CENTER

The Great New England Credit Union Show has grown rapidly since its debut nine years ago and has become a must-attend event for those within the credit union industry. This show is a “one-stop-shop” for you to evaluate products and services and educate yourself on the offerings that can help you better serve your co-workers and members. You have a unique opportunity to network with your peers from credit unions throughout New England and to learn how they are meeting the challenges of today. We look forward to seeing you there!

Visit www.greatcushow.com to register today!

SPONSORSHIP AND EXHIBITOR OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE

Call 617-896-5357 or email greatcushow@thewarrengroup.com

19 | BANKER & TRADESMAN

MARCH 19, 2018

CLASSIFIEDS SECTION

THE ONE PLACE TO FIND OPPORTUNITIES

Classified Ads can also be accessed online. Visit bankerandtradesman.com and click on The Marketplace.

RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

AUCTION

EDUCATION

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

HELP WANTED

To Place an Ad in Classifieds, Please Contact Claire Merritt at 617-896-5357.

AUCTION

Real Estate AUCTION CAPE COD GAS STATION RT. 6A & CRANBERRy HWy.

CLASSIFIEDS

THE ONE PLACE TO FIND OPPORTUNITIES

Post your classified ad – in print and online

p

Ca

l

ana

dC

o eC

Sagamore Bridge

Visit classifieds.bankerandandtradesman.com to get started

6

6A

1030 Sandwich Rd.

Sagamore (Bourne), MA

Gas/Convenience Store .25± Acres at Busy Intersection Near Sagamore Bridge

Wed., March 28 at 11am On-site Property Preview: Wed., March 21 (11am-1pm) Info, Full Terms, Broker Reg. & More at:

JJManning.com (800) 521-0111

MA Co. Lic# 3184 • Ref # 18-1763

Banker & Tradesman 1/4 page

To Place An Ad In This Section Contact The Advertising Department At (617) 896-5397

V I S I T C L A S S I F I E D S. B A N K E R A N D T R A D E S M A N. C O M

20 | BANKER & TRADESMAN

MARCH 19, 2018

PRESENTED BY

THE CONSUMER EXPERIENCE

APRIL 26, 2018

MASSACHUSET TS BANKS

B A N K I N G C H O I C E AWA R D S . C O M