Sunday is open house day in downtown Boston, with currently more than 300 open houses scheduled for Sunday, February 28, 2010. As we approach Spring, and who would think it with the cold and wet weather, market activity is starting to heat up. Two open houses that may be worth checking out on Sunday include a small studio investment property at 50 Charlesgate on the border of the Back Bay and the Fenway, and a move-in ready condo in a new redeveloped building at 655 Tremont Street in the heart of the South End.

Boston Investment Property at 50 Charlesgate

If you’re searching for a low-priced way to get into the downtown Boston investment property arena, and would be comfortable with an approximate 3% return on your equity investment, unit 200 at 50 Charlesgate, a 210-unit condo development, may be of interest. The 240 square foot studio apartment is currently rented for $1,100 per month, and is listed for $195,000 – this should be an all cash transaction, the pro forma does not make a lot of sense if any significant amount of debt service is carried in the transaction. The unit will be held open on Sunday, February 28, 2010 from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM.

South End Boston Open House at 655 Tremont Street

In the heart of the South End, 655 Tremont Street is a 10-unit redevelopment of an existing building, and will house two commercial spaces on the ground floor. With a common roofdeck offering excellent Boston skyline views, unit 4, a 575 square foot one-bedroom one-bathroom corner unit condo listed at $424,900 is move-in ready and puts you in a “new building” with a lot of “old building” neighborhood charm. Unit 4 at 655 Tremont Street will be held open on Sunday, February 28, 2010 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM.

Albeit smaller projects, and slowly, downtown Boston is still seeing the addition of residential condo inventory through new construction and redevelopment.  The Boston W was the last large-scale project to receive financing for construction, and while there has not been additional large-scale projects green-lighted for development in Boston pre-dating the recession, small-scale development is happening across various neighborhoods of downtown Boston.  Two examples include a South End redevelopment at 655 Tremont Street, and a new construction on an empty parking lot at the corner of Clarendon and Lawrence.

South End 655 Tremont Street

At the northwest corner of Tremont Street and W Brookline Street in the South End, 655 Tremont is a 10-unit redevelopment of an existing mixed-use building.  Construction began in 2009, and currently, one unit in the development has sold, and another is under agreement (according to MLSpin).

The development has pushed eco-friendly construction with eucalyptus floors throughout.  The units and building boast generous closets, deeded storage, a bike room, and a common roof deck.  Prices for the 1 bedroom 1 bathroom, 1 bedroom 1.5 bathroom, and 2 bedroom 1.5 bathroom units range from $424,900 – $779,900.

Clarendon / Lawrence Parking Lot Development

Several blocks away from 655 Tremont Street, at the southeast corner of Clarendon and Lawrence Streets in the South End, a developer has taken a former parking lot, and is moving forward with a new construction building.  Such a project is reminiscent of 40 Worcester Street, also an empty South End corner lot until 2009 when a brand new 3-unit rowhouse was erected to fill the space.