After many years of business operation in Fairfield, General Electric (GE) has finally moved to Boston. The known "GE exodus" has alerted the real estate industry because of the expected rising residential demand.
The newly-built Boston headquarters will now be the second home for about 200 corporate employees, who worked in the company during their Fairfield stay. However, more than 600 other employees will have to stay in their previous base before the office space in Norwalk gets leased. Yet, there is no reason to panic, according to CT Post, since the real estate demand in Boston would still be met.
The company's base transfer will also cause effects that cannot be determined in the meantime. On the other hand, the jobs that many of their 600 employees have serve as the key player in the local real estate market.
GE is the highest property tax payer that helps the economy of Connecticut's Gold Coast. With their $1.6 million tax paid annually, Fairfield First Selectman Michael Tetreau believes the impact is greater than what can be imagined.
As GE employees move to Boston, their homes will also be put on sale. Their seats on Fairfield's Board of Charities and GE's Foundation will also be affected.
However, Trumbull realtor Mary Beth Grasso said that agents are watchful of the next flow of events. She said that the real estate market has gone through tough market housing collapse many times, with each one making the agents smarter.
According to Grasso, there is still no concrete evidence to support how the market will turn out after the GE's move. Still, there is no reason to panic; she admits that the problem at hand is especially challenging.
Brad Kimmelman, William Pith Sotheby's brokerage manager, suggests that although the GE's movement has become news last year, 2015 was a strong year for them.
Among the affected people, Fairfield jeweler Howard Diamond worries that he may have to pay for additional taxes for his businesses, Portland Press Herald reports. He says that the move of GE to Boston will likely make him pay a higher tax. Moreover, he deems that as the real estate agents move from Fairfield, the real estate values in Fairfield will drive down.
