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THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND REAL ESTATE WEEKLY FOR MASSACHUSETTS BY THE NUMBERS
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County close-up: Worcester Spotlight: Southborough
Steve Farrell is leading Fenway Community Development Corp. as the 51-year-old nonprofit housing agency expands its development and acquisition pipeline.
IN PERSON
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WEEK OF MONDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2024
Developer KS Partners has filed plans with city officials to convert 15 Court Square, center, into 90 apartments. Amid ongoing public safety concerns, neighborhood rents are falling according to a new report from brokerage The Collaborative Companies.
SAFETY SLIDE
558 The increase in single-family sales statewide this year. See Sam Minton’s story on page 7. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module
$14.76 The mil rate for residential property in Southborough. See the Town Spotlight in By the Numbers on page 6. Source: Department of Revenue
$616,925 The median single-family sale price, year-to-date, through Oct. 31. See Sam Minton’s story on page 7. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module
$1.02 million The median single-family sale price in Southborough, year-to-date. See By the Numbers on page 6. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module
7.22 percent The highest average interest rate on a typical home mortgage this year. See Sam Minton’s story on page 7. Source: Freddie Mac
2 percent The year-on-year decline in singlefamily sales in Worcester County. See By the Numbers on page 6. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module
14 percent Empty-nesters make up only 14 percent of Greater Boston households. See Sam Minton’s story on page 7. Source: Zillow
6.24 percent Boston’s residential tax rate is going up 6.24 percent for fiscal year 2025. See page 10. Source: City of Boston
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.
DOWNTOWN RESIDENTS
RAISE RED FLAGS
Public Safety Concerns Could Affect Real Estate Demand BY STEVE ADAMS BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
W
hile Boston’s commercial real estate postpandemic struggles have been wellpublicized, new research shows cracks in the downtown residential market. The downtown neighborhood was one of only two in Boston where apartment rents have declined in the past 12 months, according to market data issued this month by The Collaborative Companies, a Boston residential brokerage. Downtown Boston neighborhood
groups say a variety of public safety problems need to be addressed as the city struggles to recoup lost property tax revenues from its commercial real estate or face steep budget cuts. “There is no economic development if you don’t have public safety,” said Rishi Shukla, co-founder of the Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association, referencing the failure of Mayor Michelle Wu’s proposal to increase the share of property taxes paid by commercial properties. “None of this is going to matter if people don’t want to do business or live here.” While effective apartment rents in the urban core rose 2 percent year-over-year, according to the TCC report, downtown rents dropped 5 percent. All other neighborhoods had positive rent growth as
high as 6 percent with the exception of Brighton, which declined 0.4 percent. The report pulls data from listings at large, professionally-managed rental properties. Of more than 300 respondents to a November survey by the Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association, more than two-thirds said they feel less safe downtown than they did a year ago. Encampments began cropping up on Boston Common in early spring, and increases in homelessness in the nearby Ladder District were evident by summer, said Shukla, a 25-year resident of the downtown neighborhood. The group has 1,000 members who live in nearly 30 residential buildings.
THE ROAD AHEAD
DISPLACEMENT CURE
With Fewer Homeowners Feeling Locked in, More Listings Hoped For
New City Revolving Fund Aims for $25M
By Sam Minton | Banker & Tradesman Staff
By Steve Adams | Banker & Tradesman Staff
Continued on Page 11
Photo by James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman Staff
RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE BY THE NUMBERS
Experts See Housing Market Hospitals Join Fund to Inching Towards Normality in 2025 Buy Apartments in Boston
Banking & Lending PAGE 7
XX Real Estate Commercial PAGEPAGE 10 9