Subscribe to The Advocate See page 10
Vol. 20, No. 30
-FREE-
www.advocatenews.net
Published Every Friday
Atria Maplewood Place hosts annual Chef Showdown
617-387-2200
Friday, July 27, 2018
Harbormaster Neal Anderson hopes boating will be part of Malden’s future
Councillor and Harbormaster Neal Anderson is shown with the Commodore of the Point of Pines Yacht Club Jack Glancy before the recent Blessing of the Fleet in Revere. (Advocate photo by Al Terminiello)
By Barbara Taormina s visions and proposals for the Malden River begin to take shape, one person watching with keen interest is the city’s harbormaster. For the past dozen or so years, Ward 7 Councillor Neal Anderson has served as harbormaster for the great seafaring port of Malden – sort of. Although the city doesn’t
A
Chef Ashley Vacheresse, Mayor Gary Christenson and Chef Mark Contini enjoyed a friendly competition at Atria Maplewood Place’s annual Chef Showdown last Thursday, in which Contini, Maplewood Place’s in-house chef, competed against three Kitchens to cook the best dish using tomatoes. See more photo highlgiths on pages 12 & 13. (Advocate photo by Katy Rogers)
have an actual harbor, it does have a waterway that connects to the ocean, which entitles the city to appoint a harbormaster. “It’s really a ceremonial position,� said Anderson. “Everything I do in my role is unpaid. There’s no office, no phone, no stipends, no gas. We do these things because we love the city.� And in Anderson’s case be-
RIVER | SEE PAGE 6
Malden’s white-hot housing market continues By Barbara Taormina eal estate owner/broker Claude Petrillo has been doing business in and around Malden for the past 15 years, and he has summed up the city’s current housing market with three simple words: “out of control.�
R
$2.45 GALLON *$//21
:H DFFHSW 0DVWHU&DUG 9LVD 'LVFRYHU
3ULFH 6XEMHFW WR &KDQJH ZLWKRXW QRWLFH
*DO 0LQ +U 6HUYLFH
According to MassRealty, a Cambridge-based firm which tracks real estate sales throughout the state, more than 200 Malden properties have changed hands since the start of the year. But what’s been surprising for those in the industry isn’t the number of sales, it the prices that properties are going for. The median price for homes in Malden, which includes everything from condos to large multi-families, is hovering at $493,317. That figure represents a $48,278 increase over July 2017, when Malden housing prices hit a median of $445,039. “What’s happening today beats the 2005 to 2007 rush by far,� said Petrillo, who owns North Shore Realty Associates on Highland Avenue. Petrillo said the greatest demand has been for multifamily properties. “If you have an open house for a multifamily on Saturday and Sun-
day, you’ll have offers on the table by 5 p.m. on Monday,� he said, adding that the sales are driven by investors looking for rental income properties. Attorney Michelle Kelley, a broker with Exit Realty, which focuses on properties in the Greater Boston and North Shore markets, agreed multifamily properties are in demand. “Prices for multi-families, specifically those near a T station, have sky-rocketed,� she said, adding that Everett, Somerville, East Boston and surrounding communities are seeing the same type of boom as Malden. “Markets get a little more manageable when you hit places like Topsfield and Danvers,� she said. And while multi-families are in high demand, singlefamily homes in Malden are also selling at what seems to be a fast and furious rate, often for amounts that are
significantly above their assessed values and initial list prices. Recently, a two-bedroom ranch on Barnes Avenue, which had an assessed value of $381,000, was listed for just over $400,000. According to MassRealty, the property was sold last week for $452,000. A three-bedroom colonial on Orchard Street assessed at $342,000 recently sold for $505,000 while a four-bedroom home with one bathroom on Park Avenue with an assessed value of $365,000 was sold for $538,000. “That’s been the trend that started more than a year ago,� said Kelley, adding that the sale prices reflect basic supply and demand. “Unfortunately, inventory is low, and we have more buyers than listers,� she said. Some industry analysts believe that trend will gradually shift as more and more baby boomers sell large hous-
es and downsize to smaller homes and condos. There is even some speculation that boomers could flood the market and trigger a drop in home prices. “Some say we’ve hit a peak at value, but we’ll probably stay at these values you see now,� said Kelley. Still, Kelley and other brokers and analysts know that the real estate market is cyclical. “Every 15 years or so, you’ll see a dip, a drop or plunge,� she said, adding that history tells us that may eventually show up on the horizon. Petrillo, however, remains bullish on real estate. He pointed to the economic growth in the greater Boston area and said that despite conventional wisdom, there’s no indication of a downturn in the housing market. “Gas prices are up, interest rates are up, everything is up,� he said. “What’s going to stop it?�