ANNIVERSARY BY THE NUMBERS
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R E AA LL EES ST T F AI N A INA CL I IANLF OI R NM F A O TRI M A TSI I O RE AA T ET E& & FIN NC ON NN C E S 1I 8N7C2 E
County close-up: Berkshire Spotlight: Dalton
IN PERSON
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Mike Leyba helps lead City Life Vida Urbana, the most vocal and prominent of Greater Boston’s tenant advocacy groups, a position that makes him a powerful voice in Boston’s debate over rent stabilization policies.
WEEK OF MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2022
RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE BY THE NUMBERS
Bluebid Homes hopes to connect buyers and homeowners who haven’t yet listed with an agent to conduct a private sale.
INTO THE BLUE
4 Greater Boston was the nation’s fourth-most-competitive real estate market in the nation. See Week on the Web on page 2. Source: Redfin
$300,000 The median single-family sale price in Berkshire County. See By the Numbers on page 6. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module
54 percent The share of offers written by Redfin agents in Greater Boston that met with competition in August. See Week on the Web on page 2. Source: Redfin
$3.27 million The price of the most expensive recent existing single-family sale in Berkshire County. See By the Numbers on page 6. Source: The Warren Group
8 Worcester was the nation’s eightmost-competitive real estate market in the nation. See Week on the Web on page 2. Source: Redfin
1,005 The number of single-family homes sold in Berkshire County year-to-date. See By the Numbers on page 6. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module
51.2 percent The share of offers written by Redfin agents in Greater Worcester that met with competition in August. See Week on the Web on page 2. Source: Redfin
STARTUP OFFERS OFF-MARKET LEADS Bluebid Homes Lets Buyers Bid on What’s Not Yet for Sale BY JAMES SANNA BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
C
an you mine new housing inventory and leads for real estate agents from homeowners who haven’t yet made the decision to sell? That’s the concept behind Bluebid Homes, a startup that launched its new home-bidding service across Massachusetts last week. The concept is relatively simple. By showing homeowners real offers to buy their home in the years leading up to
when someone typically sells, Bluebid co-founders Chris Mackey and Dan Liliedahl think the company can induce them to pull the trigger on a sale. But the company must first change over a century of habit ingrained in American consumers that selling a home requires listing it with a real estate agent, first.
Private Sales Brought into Open Mackey, Liliedahl and their team of five other staff have built a platform that superficially resembles listings portals like Zillow or Realtor.com. A prospective buyer who dials up the Bluebid site is presented with a map of their desired area – for now, just Mas-
sachusetts while the company field-tests its concept – populated with blue dots, reach representing a house whose owner has “claimed” it. Like claiming a listing on traditional portal sites, this allows a homeowner to edit the information that Bluebid culled from public assessors’ databases, but also indicate that they’re interested in receiving unsolicited offers from strangers wanting to buy their house. The ability to make offers on a house that hasn’t even gone on the market should be a compelling idea to many buyers in the current inventory environment, Mackey said. Continued on Page 10
$555,000 The year-to-date statewide median sale price as of Aug. 31. See By the Numbers on page 6. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module
Unless otherwise noted, all data is sourced from The Warren Group’s Mortgage Market Share Module, Loan Originator Module, Statistics Module and/or proprietary database. For more information please visit www.thewarrengroup.com/business/ datasolutions.
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS
TA P P I N G E Q U I T Y
Most Members Replaced Long Before Citywide Planning Complete
With Rates Climbing, Firms Search for Profits
Why Did Michelle Wu Blow Up the ZBA? By Scott Van Voorhis | Banker & Tradesman Columnist
Commercial Real Estate PAGE 7
Non-Bank Lenders Move into HELOC Space By Diane McLaughlin | Banker & Tradesman Staff
Banking & Lending PAGE 9