Banker & Tradesman, May 15, 2017

Page 1

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W E E K O F M O N D A Y , M AY 1 5 , 2 0 1 7

financial

services

and

real

estate

weekly

for

massachusetts

A Publication of The Warren Group CAUGHT AT LAST COMMERCIAL INTERESTS

Former RE Agent Accused Of Lengthy Scamming Spree

HOUSING SITUATION

GROWS DIRE Lack Of Inventory Hurts Buyers And Sellers Alike

BY SCOTT VAN VOORHIS | BANKER & TRADESMAN COLUMNIST

M

ystery sleuths out there, here’s one for you: Just how does the Massachusetts real market continue to function when the already record low number of homes for sale keeps going even lower? Every time it looks like the number of listings couldn’t possibly drop again, it does, with the launch of the spring market seeing big declines in both the number of homes hitting the market and the overall supply of unsold “inventory.” Just call it the case of the incredible shrinking real estate market. The spring market typically sees homeowners and their agents rush to

Continued on Page 3

Family, Former Friends Say There Are More Victims

While Inventory Is At Record Lows, Sales And Prices Soar

Single-Family March 2017

March 2016

% Change

Inventory

11,892

18,118

-34.4%

Months of Supply

2.4

3.8

-36.8%

Days on Market

89

119

-23.3%

New Listings

7,180

8,300

-13.5%

Number of Sales

3,944

3,701

6.6%

Median Price

$335,750 $315,000

6.6%

March 2017

March 2016

% Change

Inventory

3,478

5,026

-30.8%

Months of Supply

1.9

2.7

-29.6%

Days on Market

65

85

-23.5%

New Listings

2,785

2,995

-7.0%

Number of Sales

1,853

1,499

23.6%

$324,000 $319,000

ormer Boston real estate agent Dale Murawski, 42, was arraigned May 3 and charged with stealing $166,000 from 19 friends, co-workers and clients. Victims, former friends and family members say the current charges barely scratch the surface of his fraudulent activity, and they may be correct; Banker & Tradesman has confirmed there are outstanding warrants for Murawski in Connecticut and Texas. Murawski “probably owes money to people in every city he’s ever been in or through,” said his brother, Scott Murawski. According to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, between May 2015 Continued on Page 8

Condominiums

Median Price

F

BY JIM MORRISON BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF

1.6%

All figures are statewide Sources: Massachusetts Association of Realtors & The Warren Group

CONTENTS

In Person ������������������������������������������������������������������ 7

Banking & Lending ������������������������������������������������� 10

Points ����������������������������������������������������������������������� 4

Residential ��������������������������������������������������������������� 8

Classified Sections ������������������������������������������������� 13

By The Numbers ������������������������������������������������������� 6

Commercial & Industrial ������������������������������������������ 9

Records Section ������������������������������������������������������ B1

INDUSTRIAL ARTS

Culture And Commerce Collide In Norwood Former Shingle Factory Reborn As ‘Space Center’ BY STEVE ADAMS BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF

T

he first hint this isn’t your typical mill redevelopment: enough pop culture memorabilia to fill a dozen tractor-trailers. The Norwood Space Center – 11 buildings that once housed the Bird & Sons roofing supplies factory – is the new permanent home for collector David Bieber’s pop culture and rock-and-roll archive. Dorchester-based Percival Beer Co. is building a brewery here, joining a sneaker museum, landscape architects, event planners, home supply showrooms and coworking space. Developer David DePree describes the $10 million project as an industrial-tocommercial conversion, but that hardly does justice to the range of businesses starting to fill the Morse Street complex alongside the Neponset River. He left the naming duties to Peter Gold, a festival producer who has been working with Bieber and sneaker collector Rick Kozow on the search for a permanent home for their collections. Continued on Page 9


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