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THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND REAL ESTATE WEEKLY FOR MASSACHUSETTS BY THE NUMBERS
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County close-up: Plymouth Spotlight: Scituate
Bob Delhome founded Boston-based environmental remediation, marine contracting and brownfield development firm Charter as a “young and probably a bit naive” man with a vision to plug what he saw as a hole in the New England market: a firm that could offer environmental services and construction expertise at the same time.
IN PERSON
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WEEK OF MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2020
RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE BY THE NUMBERS
CLIMBING HIGHER
7,685 The number of homes in Scituate. See the Town Spotlight in By the Numbers on page 6. Source: Census Bureau
$290,000 The statewide 2012 median singlefamily sale price through the end of October. See By the Numbers on page 6. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module.
$442,350 The statewide median single-family sale price through October 2020. See By the Numbers on page 6. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module.
$12.86 million The sale price of the most expensive home in this week’s Gossip Report. See page 9. Source: The Warren Group
15 percent The year-over-year increase in the number of single-family homes sold in Plymouth. See By the Numbers on page 6. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module.
$635,000 The median single-family sale price in Scituate through Oct. 31. See By the Numbers on page 6. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module.
20 percent The median single-family sales price in Marion has grown by 20 percent year-over-year. See By the Numbers on page 6. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module.
BORROWERS, BANKS GET REPRIEVE WITH
NEW LOAN LIMITS Rising Prices Squeeze Buyers Against Jumbo Threshold BY DIANE MCLAUGHLIN BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
A
s the pandemic and low interest rates continue to fuel a surge in homebuying, the short supply of suitable houses is driving up home prices and, in turn, the need for larger mortgages. “The home, in my mind, has gotten much more important than it was in the
10,537 square feet The size of the largest home in this week’s Gossip Report. See page 9. Source: The Warren Group
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.
past – even in just the last seven or eight months,” said Shant Banosian, a senior vice president at Guaranteed Rate. “People are definitely buying bigger homes and reevaluating what they want in their homes, and that, generally, is more expensive.” The need for larger mortgages often puts homebuyers above the conventional threshold and into a jumbo mortgage, a more expensive option that was also a less attractive alternative for lenders before the pandemic and even more so now, loan originators say. The U.S. government may have just given the mortgage industry a reprieve. The Federal Housing Finance Agency an-
nounced in November that conforming loan limits will increase by almost 7.5 percent in 2021. The new limits could keep homebuyers from having to seek jumbo loans while lenders will benefit from being able to sell more loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. By selling more loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, lenders typically get a better rate than they would by keeping the loan on their own balance sheets in the current environment of low interest rates, said Jay Tuli, president of Arlington-based Leader Bank. Continued on Page 9
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS
COMEBACK KID
Boston Office Demand Among Lowest in U.S.
City Hopes to Grow Office, Industrial Near Transit
Blame TAMI Tenants for Office Market Softness By Scott Van Voorhis | Banker & Tradesman Columnist
Commercial Real Estate PAGE 3
Brockton Multifamily Boom Continues Through COVID By James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman Staff
Commercial Real Estate PAGE 7