Colleen M. Sullivan
Banker & Tradesman Staff
by Colleen M. Sullivan | May 25, 2015
A shift in condo prices may be the first sign of a long-term change in what types of housing are desirable to Massachusetts residents – and one that could impact home values for the whole market.
Ever since the great housing bust of the mid-2000s, both single-family and condominium prices have been meandering on a long road toward recovery. But while prices and sales are back to something like normal in many Bay State cities and towns, there’s a new normal: Condo prices have recovered faster and more robustly,
by Colleen M. Sullivan | May 24, 2015
Thomas Banks has longstanding roots in the South Shore, and so do his customers. He’s been at Rockland Trust for 25 years, working his way up from branch manager to district manager. And having the opportunity to build up those kinds of long-term relationships with...
by Colleen M. Sullivan | May 24, 2015
When asked why Anna Kulakowski’s name leapt to mind when he first heard about the Community Bank Hero awards, James Burke, a Peabody attorney and one of Kulakowski’s nominators, said, jokingly, that “she’s always bugging me for bottles of wine.” Not, of course, for...
by Colleen M. Sullivan | May 18, 2015
Talking to home buyers and agents inside the 128 belt, you may hear a familiar tale of desperation during this strong spring market: Shockingly low inventory, cut-throat multiple bid offers, and eye-popping new sales price highs. Indeed, a look at the Boston market in particular — where a new luxury skyscraper seems to be on the rise every other block — may make it seem like the residential market has never been better. But taking a step back shows a different picture.
by Colleen M. Sullivan | May 11, 2015
Big changes are coming to the closing process this summer, and while lenders and attorneys have been scrambling to get ready, it’s real estate agents who may be facing the brunt of the practical effects—yet
by Colleen M. Sullivan | May 7, 2015
Big data and web technology finally are having an impact on one of the most people-centric, relationship-building industries around, commercial real estate brokerage, according to a panel discussion this morning hosted by the Urban Land Institute (ULI). The event,...
by Colleen M. Sullivan | May 5, 2015
The title insurance industry, and the attorneys who often act as its agents, are facing several challenges in 2015, and the industry must do more to prepare itself to face them, said Michelle Korsmo of the American Land Title Association (ALTA) speaking on Monday at...
by Colleen M. Sullivan | May 5, 2015
In a feisty panel discussion this morning, a bevy of the state’s current and former top transit officials and advocates discussed what needs to be done to fix the T. Experts largely agreed on what the problems were but expressed more skepticism as to Gov. Charlie...
by Colleen M. Sullivan | May 4, 2015
As any battle-scarred veteran of multiple-bid battles – and there’s plenty of them about these days – could tell you, sellers are firmly in the driver’s seat in the Greater Boston market, and have been for years.
That’s beginning to have an interesting effect on the upper end of the
by Colleen M. Sullivan | Apr 27, 2015
Michael Krone Title: Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Kriss Law/Atlantic Title & Closing Age: 60 Experience: 35 years Michael Krone has spent his career as an attorney keenly attuned to the business side of the mortgage industry and its needs. From...
by Colleen M. Sullivan | Apr 27, 2015
The state’s Supreme Judicial Court has pruned back the tangled garden of the state’s foreclosure laws, clarifying how long lien holders have to foreclose on old debts and clearing up some clouded titles.
The case, Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. v. Fitchburg Capital LLC,
by Colleen M. Sullivan | Apr 20, 2015
Joe Costantino got his start in business early, taking over his father’s dry cleaning business at the tender age of 16 when his father fell ill. Since then, he’s leveraged his years of sales experience into a career as a consultant, founding his own firm, Business Marketing Success, in 2003. More recently, he entered the lively world of real estate brokerage.
by Colleen M. Sullivan | Apr 20, 2015
In an age when even the police themselves have something to fear from cybercriminals – earlier this month, the force in the town of Tewksbury admitted it had been forced to pay a bitcoin ransom to hackers in order to regain access to its own arrest records – perhaps its
by Colleen M. Sullivan | Apr 14, 2015
Affordable housing advocates are gearing up to take advantage of a new source of funding, which they hope will be a long-term resource to help them build more housing for people with disabilities and extremely low incomes. But much work needs to be done by the...
by Colleen M. Sullivan | Apr 13, 2015
Providence, R.I.-based Lincoln Appraisal & Settlement Services (LASS) will join the Massachusetts Board of Real Estate Appraisers (MBREA), the first appraisal management company to do so. Appraisal management companies (AMCs), which act as middlemen between...
by Colleen M. Sullivan | Apr 13, 2015
When it was announced last year, the Parker/Terrace redevelopment project on the border of Mission Hill and Roxbury was supposed to be a dream deal for the Department of Neighborhood Development: A disused lot in a semi-industrial neighborhood being turned into a 44-unit, mixed-use development,
by Colleen M. Sullivan | Apr 9, 2015
In a sometimes emotional and personal panel discussion, a group of designers and architects met at Harvard last night to discuss the impact of design and development on social justice and how their skills could better be used to bring about more a more equitable...
by Colleen M. Sullivan | Apr 6, 2015
If you’re one of those lucky Boston renters currently in the market for a high-rise apartment in the sky, you may be in line for further good fortune: Getting paid for your patronage.
The plethora of new luxury apartment buildings coming onto the market simultaneously is prompting landlords and
by Colleen M. Sullivan | Mar 27, 2015
A consortium of brokers and multiple listing services, including Massachusetts’s largest MLS, MLS PIN, have come together to help launch a national public portal for real estate listings.
The portal will be modeled on successful public-facing MLS sites like those of the
by Colleen M. Sullivan | Mar 23, 2015
After moving there to attend art school as a young woman, Corinne Fitzgerald fell in love with the lifestyle and natural beauty of Western Massachusetts, settling there until the self-proclaimed “former hippie” and single mom established her own successful brokerage business.
