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.
Three Massachusetts Women Changing the Face of Leadership
When we look back across history at women in leadership, we see two very different stories: one for white women and one for women of color. But that’s changing.
Healey’s Transportation Funding Task Force Is Set Up to Succeed
We’ve seen many blue-ribbon commissions on transportation before. But this time, everyone knows that failure to find solutions means the MBTA – and the Greater Boston economy – will be in jeopardy.
Driving the Best Bargain Now Isn’t the Best Long-Term Strategy
Conventional wisdom says that you should never leave money on the table when negotiating. But research in the field of game theory suggests this could be exactly the wrong approach.
A New ‘Public Bank’ Can Be a Partner for Massachusetts’ Banks and Small Business
There is a potential new partner just over the horizon for Massachusetts’ community banks, community development financial institutions, small businesses, farms and underserved communities: a Massachusetts Public Bank.
Speak Up for Zoning Reform in Boston
Boston has a housing crisis of its own making. We let unelected, vocal minorities block the new homes that would get us out of this mess.
Court Upholds Defective Foreclosure Deed
The vast majority of mortgage loans are repaid without incident, but when they go into default, peculiar twists and turns can ensue. A federal district court decision issued in January, involving a home in Framingham, offers an example.
Milton’s Vote Shows Local Officials Need Help to Make Zoning Reforms
By design, MBTA Communities was supposed to immunize local elected officials from local resistance to new housing. But that’s not happening. Here’s what we need to do next.
How Design Factors into a Swift Residential Sellout
Location may be one of the most common words to describe valuable real estate, but when embarking on a multifamily or single-family project, regardless of location, design arguably reigns supreme.
Experts’ Voices Must Be Part of Decarbonization Conversation
We are experiencing a sea change in regulations related to sustainability and decarbonization in the built environment. And technical experts like architects need to have central roles in their development.
IBA’s South End Project Maximizes Cultural Impact
A new arts center, which incorporates elements of the historic building it’s replacing, will be a hub for the Boston Latinx community’s cultural empowerment.
Measuring Affordable Housing Is Key to Building More of It
The unfortunate reality for affordable housing is we haven’t done a great job measuring it, causing questions about our success in managing it. Housing Navigator Massachusetts is changing that.
Housing Tax Credit Bill Should Be on U.S. Senate’s To-Do List
A bill making its way through Congress could spark the largest increase in resources for affordable rental housing in nearly a quarter of a century and reduce project costs.
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: Subtle Signalling
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is trying a new, prop-based form of “forward guidance” in his latest public appearance.
Banker & Tradesman’s Editorial Cartoon: What a Great Investment
At least one industrial real estate developer is having buyer’s remorse thanks to a slowdown in that sector.
Banker & Tradesman’s Editorial Cartoon: NAR Merry-Go-Round
Step right up, folks! Ride the fastest ride in real estate: The National Association of Realtors President merry-go-round.
Banker & Tradesman’s Editorial Cartoon: Dominoes Falling
With office buildings finally starting to sell in downtown Boston — often at huge discounts to pre-pandemic purchase prices — it’s not long before these falling dominoes hit city coffers.
Editorials
Editorials are the opinions of this newspaper alone, and do not reflect its reporters or columnists.
Why Milton’s Vote Ultimately Doesn’t Matter
Milton cannot lawfully refuse to allow higher density zoning around the Mattapan line.
Flooding Regs Generate Developers’ Concerns
Department of Environmental Protection officials did the right thing last week, bowing to a flurry of concerned letters by allowing significantly more time for stakeholders to review their sweeping update of stormwater, flooding and wetlands regulations.
What’s Changing, and Not, at the BPDA
Five years after initially floating the idea as a city councilor, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is closing in on key legal changes to eliminate the Boston Planning & Development Agency. And it’s leaving some in the real estate community scratching their heads at best about what it all means.
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.
Be Careful What You Wish For, Madam Mayor
Don’t like the Boston Planning & Development Agency? Think it’s too close to developers and business interests and should be abolished? Just amp up the fractious Boston City Council’s influence on what gets built.
Goodbye to Downtown Skyscraper-Building
When the South Station tower opens next year, it will be one of the largest office projects ever built in the city. It may very well be one of the last as well.
Fed’s Refusal to Cut Rates Drags Down Housing Market
When it comes to describing what’s happening right now in the real estate market, you can take your pick, but downturn, recession or even depression all seem like good fits right now. You just wouldn’t know it from reading the business press.
The Next Banking Panic?
Nearly a year after SVB’s failure, a potentially bigger banking crisis is looming, this time centered on the troubled world of commercial real estate loans made on what are now half-empty downtown office towers across the country.
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.
Watch Out for ‘Gotcha’ Clauses in Homebuyer Representation Contracts
Would you pay a 9 percent commission to buy a house? The scenario is a long shot, but it’s still conceivable, if you’re not careful, according to a review of buyer-broker contracts reviewed by the Consumer Federation of America.
These Show Homes Take Different Paths
Two model homes being showcased at this week’s International Builders’ Show try to offer solutions to some of today’s biggest challenges: sustainability and the difficulty of “trading up” as your family changes.
No Immigrants, No New Housing
For any number of reasons, U.S.-born workers have been reluctant to join the construction workforce, leading to consistent labor shortages and rising wages – meaning the prices of new housing is going up, too.
Appraisals Fail Many Sellers
The real estate community has long complained about appraisals that lagged the market, but the report from the FHFA documents that their gripes are valid: Undervaluations spiked to 15 percent in 2021.