Opinion
Columnists, guest columns, op-eds and editorials published in Banker & Tradesman and its special sections.
Guest Columns and Op-Eds
From high officials to lone operators, read a diverse cross section of perspectives on the issues facing the Massachusetts real estate and banking industries today.
Pitches for op-eds and special section guest columns should be directed to managing editor James Sanna at jsanna@thewarrengroup.com.
Our Sustainable Investment Model Brings Municipalities Back to Life
Mill Town Capital’s place-based, multifaceted approach focusing on what’s best for the city in need of revitalization and aims for long-term financial returns.
Downtown BID’s Recipe for Retail Renewal
A remarkable transformation is underway that’s redefining Downtown Boston from a 9-to-5, office-driven landscape, via a vibrant retail and cultural revival.
MAR to Push for Transfer Tax Alternatives on Beacon Hill
In less than two months, hundreds of Realtors from across the commonwealth will gather under the gold dome of the Massachusetts State House. Here’s what we’ll be calling for.
Looking Forward Will Maximize MBTA Communities Law’s Impact
With nearly every community complying, there’s still work to be done to make sure new zoning translates to new homes.
Does ‘Virtue Signaling’ Pay Off for Entrepreneurs?
Our research suggests consumers view a little bit of virtue language as reasonable and trustworthy. Higher levels of virtue signaling, however, can come across as dishonest.
Municipalities Will Not Lead on Housing
As passions around the MBTA Communities law rise, it’s time to take a fact-based look at the law, put it in context with what other states are doing and plan accordingly.
Worried About Your Commission? Learn to Show Your Value
Buyer’s agent compensation offers seem set to disappear from your local multiple listings service by this summer. And the effects will be wide-ranging.
Competitive Workplaces Don’t Work for Gender Equality
Firms where employees battle against each other for rank, bonuses and promotions are common in law and finance. But while, on its face, they are gender-neutral, they actually worsen gender inequality.
What Has Zoning Reform Accomplished in Cambridge?
The city sought to remove barriers to affordable housing construction by cutting permitting times and costs. And while funding shortfalls will hurt its full potential, it already appears to be working.
Pursuing a Balance of Perspectives in Boston Development
Rather than viewing development as a zero-sum game, in which every win represents someone else’s loss, the conversation needs to shift to collaboration.
Communities Already Own a Key Tool to Help Alleviate Housing Crisis: Municipal Property
Municipalities throughout New England have long struggled to create opportunities to help alleviate the region’s severe housing crisis, without realizing potential solutions may already be within their control.
Job Flexibility Keeps Workers from Feeling Hopeless
Research shows when employees don’t have control over their work schedules, it’s not just morale that suffers – mental health takes a hit too.
Editorial Cartoon
Cartoonist Peter Paul Payack lampoons and reflects on the people, trends and ideas in the Massachusetts real estate and banking industries.
Banker & Tradesman’s Editorial Cartoon: A Short FAQ Document
Bankers are grappling with complex changes to Community Reinvestment Act regulations.
Banker & Tradesman’s Editorial Cartoon: New AML Regs
Uncle Sam is keeping an eye on finance fraud and money laundering.
Banker & Tradesman’s Editorial Cartoon: If at First You Don’t Succeed
WeWork founder Adam Neumann, broadly blamed by commentators for the company’s failure, is reportedly trying to buy the company back as it limps into bankruptcy.
Banker & Tradesman’s Editorial Cartoon: Game Time
Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Housing Secretary Ed Agustus are suiting up to lead two new panels intended to find new housing reforms that can boost home construction.
Editorials
Editorials are the opinions of this newspaper alone, and do not reflect its reporters or columnists.
Pay Attention to Train Electrification
The dream of frequent, electrified suburban trains in Greater Boston has long seemed perennially on the horizon. Could this time be different? Indications are, yes. And housing developers should start keeping an eye on the project.
Pull Together to Fix Downtown Boston
Is Boston headed for a fiscal cliff or a fiscal hiccup thanks to falling office utilization? Two things are for sure: no one should take fears of a calamity lightly, and everyone should use this threat as an occasion to fix what’s long been broken.
Sun Belt Wins, Mass. Loses in Housing Construction
Massachusetts politicians should look at Raleigh, North Carolina with a mixture of anger, envy and fear: Anger and envy that that metro has outpaced us in housing construction by miles, fear that it will help them steal our jobs and prosperity.
Scott Van Voorhis
Commercial Interests
Columnist Scott Van Voorhis analyzes the commercial real estate market, state politics, housing and more with the perspective of a journalist with 40 years’ experience covering businesses in Massachusetts.
Boston’s Luxury Condo Market Still Cold
Red hot for years, has the Boston luxury condo market finally lost its sizzle? It looks like it – and developers’ ability to offer cash back at closing could be keeping prices from coming down.
Downtown Boston Needs More than New Zoning to Bounce Back
Can downtown Boston escape the so-called urban doom loop? Probably. But it’s going to take a lot more than new “skyline” zoning for taller towers to bring it back.
Don’t Let NIMBYs Kill Green Power
NIMBY local pols and naysayers wrecked the housing market in Massachusetts. Now, they’re threatening to do the same thing with the state’s new clean energy industry unless Beacon Hill can stop them.
Boston Mayor Shocks Real Estate with Office Tax Rate Hike
The scale of Mayor Michelle Wu’s planned massive hike to tax rates on office, lab and retail buildings comes at a terrible time. And she seems to be ignoring an important alternative strategy.
Lew Sichelman
The Housing Scene
Syndicated residential real estate columnist Lew Sichelman has been covering real estate for more than 50 years. He is a regular contributor to numerous shelter magazines and housing and housing-finance industry publications.
How to Get a One-of-a-Kind Home, The Easy Way
Even though I live in a custom-designed house, I don’t recommend designing your own place from scratch. It’s not for everyone.
Door Opens to Flip a House for Yourself, Not Profit
High mortgage rates, soaring house prices and rising construction costs have driven many flippers out of the market. And with their exit comes a great opportunity for people eager to buy a fixer-upper of their own.
Fixed-Rate Loan Payments Can Go Up
If you have a fixed-rate mortgage, your payments will always stay the same, right? Wrong. Taxes and insurance premiums invariably rise – which means your house payment does, too.
Setting the Record Straight on the NAR Settlement
The reporting on the recent $418 million settlement with the National Association of Realtors and several large national brokerage companies has been so atrocious that I must jump in.