Only a few of the state’s best-known real estate brokerages received Paycheck Protection Loans earlier this year as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the Massachusetts housing market.

According to data released by the U.S. Treasury Department Monday, the program had handed out $521 billion in forgivable loans as of June 30. The Treasury Department identified just a fraction of the total borrowers Monday, naming only companies that got more than $150,000. Those firms made up less than 15 percent of the nearly 5 million small companies and organizations that received loans nation-wide. In addition, Treasury only identified ranges of loan sizes received by individual companies.

Economists generally credit the program with helping prevent the job market meltdown from being much worse. Employers added 7.5 million jobs in May and June, a solid increase that was probably driven in part by the PPP. The economy still has nearly 15 million fewer jobs than before the pandemic.

Massachusetts had 113,000 loans for $14.329 billion through June 30. According to the SBA, the PPP supported 1.1 million Massachusetts jobs. The SBA estimated that 73 percent of the state’s small business payroll was covered by PPP loans. Nationwide, almost 4.9 loans were disbursed for $521.48 billion.

The program, which ended as scheduled on June 30, reopened this week and will remain open until Aug. 8.

While Massachusetts’ biggest real estate names – Coldwell Banker, William Raveis Real Estate, Berkshire Hathaway Commonweath Real Estate and Gibson Sotheby’s International Real Estate – either did not apply for or receive loans in Massachusetts, according to the SBA data, several did.

Boston-based LandVest, which focuses on luxury real estate and whose agents routinely represent some of the most expensive homes on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, received a loan between $1 million and $2 million from Boston Private Bank & Trust Co. to preserve 116 jobs. Osterville-based Robert Paul Properties, another Cape and Islands luxury-focused broker, received a $150,000 to $350,000 loan from Rockland Trust to preserve 21 jobs.

Waltham-based Lamacchia Realty, Ashland-based RE/MAX of New England and Norwell-based Jack Conway & Co. each received loans between $350,000 and $1 million from Northern Bank and Trust Co., Old National Bank and Rockland Trust, respectively. The brokerages used the money to preserve 45, 19 and 38 full-time equivalent jobs, respectively.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. Diane McLaughlin contributed to this report.

UPDATED 1:08 p.m. July 7, 2020: This story has been updated to correct the total number of jobs saved at Jack Conway & Co. as initially reported by the Small Business Administration. The correct number is 38 full-time equivalent positions.

Few Real Estate Brokerages Received for PPP Loans

by James Sanna time to read: 2 min
0