Sue Hawkes on the state of new construction in Greater Boston

Boston Agent (BA): Tell us about how Boston’s construction market is doing this year?

Sue Hawkes, owner of
The Collaborative Companies.

Sue Hawkes (SH): It’s the largest construction boom that we’ve seen in the history of Boston, frankly, and it’s due in no small part to the perceived value of the the local economy. We’ve really struck a balance between the market’s barrier to entry and the return on investment. It’s finally tipped the other way, so much so that in the last three or four years – with regard to the development cycle –rental permits have given way to condominiums.

Obviously, up until the last few years, financing condominium projects was more challenging. That was pretty true almost everywhere, except maybe New York and San Francisco. That’s certainly switched now. It’s changed entirely. We now have a large development cycle that’s inclusive of condominiums, as well as the rentals. Some would argue that we’ve got an over supply of rentals. I think that it’s not so much the over supply that might be the issue but the required price point for the rentals that are being built can only be satisfied by the highest end consumers.

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