12 MetroWest495 Biz | October 2015
Will the housing market surge
help local banks?
S
even years ago, the
words dominating the
Massachusetts housing
market news were "crash" and
"plummet." Then came years of
phrases like "tepid growth" and
"cautiously optimistic." So, if you're
wondering if the state's real estate
market has now entered a different
phase, look no further than the
key word in the headline of a late-
September press release from the
Boston-based Warren Group, which
collects data on real estate deals:
"torrid." As in, "Mass home sales
maintain torrid pace."
Community banks have challenges, and advantages,
in competition with big mortgage lenders
BY LIVIA GERSHON
Special to MetroWest495Biz
Thomas Dufault, vice
president for mortgage
lending at North Middlesex
Savings Bank in Ayer
P H O T O S / E D D C O T E