Commercial Interests
A Banker & Tradesman Blog
Less Development Made Newton’s Teacher Strike Worse
As Newton’s teacher strike drags on, it’s worth asking: Doesn’t Newton’s historical development skepticism play a role in the city’s current political and financial predicament?
Prison Closures Offer Great Opportunities for More Housing
Gov. Maura Healey has promised to “go big” on housing as he pushes a multibillion-dollar spending plan. But three big pieces of disused or soon-to-be-disused state property show she’s got more work to do in that regard.
Liberal Cambridge Takes a Pass on Rent Control
Is it time to put aside the old schtick about the “People’s Republic” of Cambridge? The city has been an outlier among its inner-core peers in not pursuing rent control last year. The reasons for that are rooted in history.
Is a Boston Housing Tax Break Really Just a ‘Work in Progress’?
Wu’s decision not to move forward at this time disappointed housing developers with projects stalled on the drawing boards, but industry circles aren’t losing hope just yet.
Is Something Frightening Hiding in REIT’s Retrenchment?
Moves by the California-based Alexandria Real Estate Equities to dump a significant slice of its Boston-area life science real estate portfolio speak volumes about the state of the local lab market, none of it good.
Watch Out: Real Estate Slumps Bring Recessions
On paper, the economy couldn’t look finer. But little if any attention is paid to an iceberg looming ahead – the massive and growing real estate slump – the kind of iceberg that typically prefigures a recession.
Boring Predictions? Not with 2024 Around the Corner
Writing a column about the big stories to watch for the year ahead is typically a fairly tame exercise. Not this time. Here are my bets for the big stories are likely to make 2024 a memorable year.
It’s the Housing, Stupid
The housing crisis has gone national, spreading from Boston and a few other blue cities to states and markets across the country. And along the way, it is helping poison the nation’s political mood by deferring or killing the dreams of a generation.
Boston Looks to NYC to Get Construction Moving
With housing construction stalled across Boston, the Wu administration is thinking big when it comes to ways to get apartment and condominium projects moving again.
Homebuying Report Raises Troubling Questions, but Offers Bad Remedies
MAPC’s latest research has uncovered astounding statistics about the role investors are playing in pushing Boston home prices up. But it falls wide of the mark in recommending rent control as a solution to the problem.
Progressives Blinded by Their Own Purity Test on Housing
Yes, we can solve the housing crisis, they say, but only if we stick with the morally pure solution – affordable housing.
The Roast of the Real Estate Turkeys
As the name suggests, this is one award you don’t want to get. A “Turkey” signifies that something has either gone terribly wrong or simply defies common sense.
Not All Smooth Sailing as Housing Zoning Deadline Looms
Gov. Maura Healey has an ambitious plan to tackle the state’s housing crisis. But some recent developments in Boston’s suburbs and exurbs should raise concerns about the willingness on part of some local communities to embrace the governor’s call to action.
Will Transfer Tax Be Healey’s Million-Dollar Whiff?
Million-dollar home sales just aren’t what they used to be in Greater Boston. And that’s a major problem for Gov. Maura Healey as she forges ahead with her proposal for a local-option tax on expensive home sales.
Governor, Use Your Bully Pulpit
Healey’s plan takes an important step towards zoning reform and plows $4.1 billion into new housing. But she needs to be willing to call out NIMBY selfishness as it happens and make the case for a healthier society.
The Boston Lab Market’s Dead? Hardly
Yes, unbuilt suburban lab projects are unraveling and rents are sinking, but the life science industry is built on real demand and requires in-person work. Life science real estate isn’t going anywhere in Boston.
Another Slow-Motion Crisis Stalks Our Public Housing
There is arguably an even bigger problem when it comes to public housing in Massachusetts, one that has drawn little media attention: the huge number of public housing units on the cusp of being uninhabitable.
Diana DiZoglio Needs Your Help
To save us from Beacon Hill’s vortex of petty feuds and back-room deal-making, the state auditor needs hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to fuel a crusading ballot campaign that will force better government.
Treat Wu’s Rezoning Pledge with Skepticism
Boston’s mayor is finally keeping her pledge to rezone the city for more growth. But she’s up against forces her three predecessors couldn’t tame and some of her helpers may lack local knowledge.
Rent Control Leaves Housing Advocates in a Bind
Housing advocates know a supply shortage is behind our runaway rents. But their two closest groups of allies sit on either side of the issue, and each see the debate in existential terms.
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