Morning sunshine streams through the beautifully maintained, two-bedroom two-bathroom + den, in the highly sought-after concierge-staffed Wilkes Passage condo development. Unit 507 at Wilkes Passage boasts approximately 1,675 square feet of living space all on one floor and is listed at $1,175,000.

This modern unit contains many custom upgrades, which include wall lighting, hardwood floors, California closets, built-in book cases, hardwood entertainment wall unit and ceiling speakers, and cushioned window seats with storage.

Unit 507 at Wilkes Passage is accompanied by a deeded, heated, tandem garage parking space that can accommodate two (2) cars, and is ideally situated close to elevators for maximum convenience. Residents also enjoy great city views from the common roof deck.

Open Houses in Boston Today

Unit 507 at Wilkes Passage, located at 1313 Washington Street in Boston’s South End, will be held open on March 7, 2010 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. Private showings are also available by appointment. For additional photos, a visual tour, printable floor plans and more, please visit www.WilkesPassageUnit507.com.

After a South End Wilkes Passage condo sold for full asking price in early February, it was time to take a look at pricing at the development.  Wilkes Passage is a 158-unit high-end loft-style condo development in Boston’s South End.  Over the past several years, the building has seen a turnover rate of approximately 10% per year, and given the development’s size, there are almost always units on the market for sale.

According the Boston MLS, on February 2, 2009, unit 509, a 1,889 square foot two-bedroom two-bathroom unit sold for full (original) asking price of $1,050,000.  That’s approximately $556 a square foot, and is in line with the $563 per per square foot seen for the four units in the building that sold over the past 3 months.  However, a year on year comparison shows that average price per square foot at Wilkes Passage has gone down.

For the same three month period in 2007-2008, there were again four units that sold at Wilkes Passage, however, a year ago, the average price per square foot was approximately $636, a 13% decrease year on year for the South End condo development.  Two of the four units (in both years) were luxury $1 million+ units, and based on a recent article (see Downtown Boston Market Slows in Piecemeal), the luxury market has seen slowdowns in the past year versus appreciation seen in the under $1 million market.

There are currently three condos for sale at Wilkes Passage, priced from $429,000 (790 square foot one-bedroom) to $775,000 (1,459 square foot one-bedroom), with an average price per square foot of $514. Additionally, there are multiple deeded garage parking spaces for sale in Wilkes’ underground parking garage.

As we wind into the final months of the summer real estate season, we wanted to take a look at what happened over the past month specific to sales to list price ratio (i.e. the sales price represents what percentage of the list price). If the value is equal to 100%, a Buyer offered full asking price, if the percentage is less than 100%, than the Buyer got an accepted Offer by offering less than the full asking price.

• 286 properties sold between July 31, 2008 and August 31, 2008 (according to the Boston MLS)
• The sales to list price ratio was 97% (96.67%)
• 241 sales were below list prices (84% of all sales)
• 17 sales were at full asking prices(6% of all sales)
• 28 sales were above list prices(10% of all sales)
• Neighborhoods included: Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Financial District, Leather District, Midtown, North End, Seaport District, South Boston, South End, The Fenway, Theatre District, Waterfront, West End

The two condos that garnered the highest sales price related to its list prices were 10 Hanover Avenue Unit 3 in the North End, which as a short sale, was listed at $274,900, but sold at $365,000 ($529 per square foot).  And 67 Rutland Street Unit 1 in the South End, a 2 bedroom 2.5 bathroom condo that was listed at $649,000 and sold at $715,000.

On the other end of the scale, 40 Battery Street Unit 305 was listed at $2,300,000 and sold for 1,950,000 on August 1, 2008 in the North End Waterfront. And 215 Commonwealth Avenue Unit 3 in the Back Bay was listed at $2,100,000 and sold for $1,795,000.

When making an Offer on a condo, some might say “how strong of an Offer do you want to make?” with the assumption that being closer to 100% of list price is strong, obviously, this needs to be taken in context.

Several takeaways may include:

• Short sales typically represent the “bargain” that some are looking for in a list price, at least on paper, but given that they are few and far between in the core of downtown Boston, the eventual sales price, despite all the extra hoops, may not translate into an actual bargain
• There is a decent percentage of the market that is being accurately priced at the time of listing, and Buyers are recognizing this, and willing to compete for a property by offering full asking price or above. A comprehensive comparable market analysis (as well as other factors)  is needed to feel confident in offering above list price.
• Of the 26 high end condos ($1 million +) that sold in the period, 5 of them sold for above asking price (Wilkes Passage and 249 Beacon Street for example) , while 21 sold for below (Burroughs Wharf, The Prince, and One Charles for example).  Perhaps there is more room to negotiate at the high end if the comparables warrant it.

A handful of deeded parking spots have come available for sale over the past week, including two spots in the South End, one at Wilkes Passage and another at Gateway Terrace. Additionally, rare parking spaces have come available at Tremont on the Common, complementing the existing (rather small) inventory of deeded spaces in downtown Boston – for more details, see our Boston parking spaces page for information on currently available spaces or to contact us to list your existing space for sale.

One of our favorite buildings in the South End is Wilkes Passage (1313 Washington Street), where there has been quite a bit of activity over the past 6 months (13 have sold, 2 are Under Agreement, and 2 are currently available).

Our Featured Open House of the week is unit 220 at Wilkes Passage, a 1,459 square foot one-bedroom one-bathroom loft-style condo. If you are not familiar with the Wilkes Passage Lofts, units are similar in the sense that they are all high-end, with gorgeous kitchens and baths, and open floor plans. The development hosts a 24 hour concierge, and garage parking is available for purchase with the unit.

The open house will take pace on Sunday, December 09, 2007, from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM. For more information on the other unit available at Wilkes Passage (unit 411, 919 square feet, $528K, $5K closing credit to Buyer), please feel free to contact us.

Over the past week, there have been 4 new resale listings that have sprouted up in Wilkes Passage 1313 Washington Avenue, an unassuming looking condo development in the South End that has gorgeous interiors and underground garage parking. Combining the recent listings with the existing ones takes the total to 8 available units in the building. Granted, Wilkes Passage is one of the largest developments in the South End with 150+ units, but, it’s still rather unique to see this number of listings come in short succession out of the same development. Perhaps Sellers are trying to take advantage of the last Fall push of Buyers before we all go into hibernation for the Winter.

Regardless of the reasoning behind it, the pickings are good. Prices range from $539,000 to $1,150,000 and in size from 919 to 1,918 square feet. Garage parking appears to be included in all but two of the available units.

For more details on any of the units for sale at Wilkes Passage, or surrounding South End condo developments, please contact us.