| Don’t know if you’ve noticed, faithful Banker & Tradesman readers, but it’s a rough road out there right now.
Literally, according to Scott Van Voorhis’ article this week, in which he predicts (and not for the first time) that our fair commonwealth’s traffic and transit problems will doom our economic boom if we can’t straighten it out.
It’s a fact that Greater Boston’s economy is roaring right along, and there are certainly some benefits to that; unfortunately it’s also exacerbating a number of other society and economic issues the city has long failed to address.
Screaming hot economies create income inequality. They create such a demand for skilled workers that recruiters must look beyond our nation’s borders, a process that can result in increased xenophobia. Boston does not need its income inequality intensified, nor does it need to gain a reputation for xenophobia in addition to its racist reputation.
Interest rates are rising and refinances are falling off; competition for loan origination is at a fever pitch. (See this year’s Top Loan Originators for more!) Of course interest rates are still nowhere near as high as they once were – but then again, neither are wages. So not only is the housing market terribly hard for buyers, it’s hard for everyone who makes a living from it, from Realtors to lenders to flippers. Fortunately the flippers, at least, have found an alternate source of funding – see Bram Berkowitz’s story this week.
And of course we can only beat the dead horse of expensive housing so many times in this space; we all know it’s nearly impossible to buy a house in Greater Boston, but what are you gonna do? Build a 40B in Charlton?
Yes, actually, you could do that. More housing of all types reduces housing costs across the board, and while Mayor Marty Walsh is doing his level best to build in Boston, the city cannot alone be responsible for housing creation. The suburbs, Gateway Cities and yes, even Western Mass need to do their part.
But that brings us right back to the terrible state of our infrastructure. It’s no good to build affordable – or “affordable” – housing outside the city if nearly all the jobs are inside of it and there’s no way to get to work without commuting for two hours (one way).
Although the T actually isn’t that bad right now, so that’s a bright spot in an otherwise terrible world, but everyone knows that’s a temporary state of affairs.
And if we are all to embrace a work from home ethos and the gig economy, well, good luck getting approved for a mortgage anywhere, let alone in Massachusetts.
Oh yes, and falling birth rates foretell a recession, and the U.S. birth rate has reached a record low. So there you go, everything is terrible, but perhaps a recession will come along and reset everything again.
Or maybe the people of the commonwealth – who, we all know, are among the nation’s best and brightest – will figure out a way to move the needle on some of these issues. But don’t hold your breath – unless you’re sitting in traffic on 128, trying to avoid the fumes.
