By Jim Morrison Three-deckers were once a reliable and well-worn path for working-class, Boston-area families to get into the housing market and build considerable wealth over time. The owner often moved into the first-floor unit, and the rents from the upper floors would cover the monthly mortgage. That was the plan, anyway. Last year, according to Multiple […]
By Brooke Sutherland and Sri Taylor Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is seeking to raise commercial property tax rates to help protect homeowners from the brunt of the historic slump in office property values. Wu has submitted a petition for a temporary increase of the city’s tax-rate ceiling for commercial properties relative to residential levies. The proposal aims to redistribute the tax burden […]
By Ashley Fahey The outlook for the U.S. office market remains bleak, with the national vacancy rate hitting another high in the first quarter of this year and losses continuing to mount on loans backed by towers across the country The vacancy rate reached 19.8% in Q1, a new record by Moody Analytics Inc. standards and a rate that’s 50 […]
By Sam Goldfarb and Nick Timiraos Stubborn inflation pressures persisted in March, derailing the case for the Federal Reserve to begin reducing interest rates in June and raising questions over whether it can deliver cuts this year without signs of an economic slowdown. The consumer-price index, a measure of goods and services prices across the economy, rose 3.5% in […]
By Greg Ryan Brookline wants part of its stretch of Route 9 to be more like Newton’s, and a Boston-based real estate developer is poised to benefit. The town of Brookline is launching an effort to rezone its land on a half-mile of Route 9 from Hammond Pond Parkway to Dunster Road. Most of the property sits on […]
By Micheline Maynard Five years ago, Whole Foods quietly tested an idea. The massively popular grocer rolled out a smaller-sized store, something along the lines of a New York City bodega — the kind of corner markets that sell everything from breakfast sandwiches to yogurt and paper towels. Turns out, customers liked the concept. But then […]
By Paul Hannon Central banks should resist the temptation to lower their key interest rates too early and risk a resurgence of inflation and a fresh bout of policy tightening, the head of the International Monetary Fund said Thursday. In a speech ahead of a twice-yearly gathering of economic policy makers from around the world next […]
By Brooke Sutherland and Sri Taylor Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is seeking to raise commercial property tax rates to help protect homeowners from the brunt of the historic slump in office property values. Wu has submitted a petition for a temporary increase of the city’s tax-rate ceiling for commercial properties relative to residential levies. The proposal aims to redistribute the tax burden […]
Treasury yields surged to their highest point this year on Monday, but instead of sparking a sell-off, they attracted a wave of new buyers. This unexpected turn of events reflects a shift in market expectations regarding the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy. Earlier forecasts anticipated three rate cuts from the Fed in 2024. However, strong […]
By Aaron Pressman Amazon unveiled its largest facility in Massachusetts on Monday, a staggering five-story warehouse in North Andover with almost 4 million square feet of space to hold everything from books and DVDs to cans of soup. The fulfillment center on the site of a former telephone company factory cost about $400 million to […]
