Boston Real Estate Observer, Author at Boston

Bryant on Columbus Now a High Flyer

April 7, 2008 By Boston Real Estate Observer

If you have walked by the Bryant on Columbus lately, the progress is rather staggering. It seems like each week a new floor is added to the development, and this past week was no different with the development finally climbing over top of its adjacent neighbors along Columbus Avenue in between Dartmouth and Clarendon Streets.

The Bryant will offer unique four-bedroom ultra luxury living accommodations along the border of the Back Bay and the South End. Self park garage (thank you, it’s nice to see this in the luxury market to help keep HOA fees lower) and direct elevator access will make this a convenient and elegant place to call home in the heart of the city.

Exclusive to us here at the Boston Condo Blog is a time series set of Bryant construction photos on our Bryant on Columbus Featured Development page.

Brooke House 79 Chandler Street

April 6, 2008 By Boston Real Estate Observer

With the Columbus Center project now on an indefinite hold, the Brooke House at 79 Chandler Street (at the corner of Chandler and quiet Cazenove) vaults itself back into a top luxury South End condo development.

Pickings are now slim at the 1890 building, newly renovated in 2007, with only a single 2 bedroom 2.5 bathroom unit remaining. Priced at $1,849,000, Unit 2 boasts 3,232 square feet ($572 per square foot) over two floors with direct elevator access. Luxury through and through at the Brooke House, especially on those cold spring mornings with heated floors and towel racks in the bathroom. Common roof deck which features a kitchen and excellently positioned city views. The $896 HOA fee includes Heat, Gas, Water, Sewer, Master Insurance, Elevator, and Snow Removal.

Our Featured Open House for the week takes place at 79 Chandler Street, on Sunday, April 06, 2008 from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM. Offsite deeded garage parking included. For Buyer Agency representation on this luxury development, or any other in the city, please contact us.

Filed Under: Boston Open Houses Tagged With: 02116 Boston Condos, Boston Brooke House, Chandler Street Condos

Is it Time to Sell Your Boston Condo?

April 5, 2008 By Boston Real Estate Observer

According to Lending Tree, 60 percent of America’s moves take place in the summer. What does that mean for you, as a Boston condo Seller? Traditionally, spring is the hottest season for real estate. Sales peak in April and May and stay strong in June and July. It’s a good season for families to move, between school terms and while the weather is warm. People have just received their tax refunds, which they can use to help finance a down payment. And the nice weather and beautiful flowers in spring and early summer make it a great time to show your home.

As spring rolls in, open houses and listing activity is picking up in downtown Boston – there are approximately 500 open houses in the core of the city already scheduled this weekend.

As you are probably aware, over 80% of home buyers start their search online. As a Seller, you need to have an online presence, and here at the Boston Condo Blog, we can help provide the exposure you need. We receive thousands of visitors every month, and would enjoy speaking with you about how you can tap into the exposure we can provide. Contact us today for more information about listing your Boston condo.

Filed Under: Seller Advice

Macallen Building Condo HOA Fees

April 3, 2008 By Boston Real Estate Observer

We’ve received several inquiries lately regarding condo (HOA) fees at the Macallen Building in northern South Boston. HOA fees at Macallen include: Concierge, Heat, Hot Water, Gas, Water, Sewer, Master Insurance, Security, Swimming Pool, Elevator, Exterior Maintenance, Road Maintenance, Landscaping, Snow Removal, Recreational Facilities, Viewing Room, Exercise Room, and a Garden Area.

The Macallen Building is the first LEED certified development in Boston. Currently available units, and their corresponding fees, are detailed below. For more information about Macallen, or to setup a showing for a unit that fits your buying criteria, contact us.

Filed Under: South Boston Condos Tagged With: 02127 Boston Condos, Macallen Building

Buy and Sell Boston Parking Spaces

April 1, 2008 By Boston Real Estate Observer

Tired of renting a parking space in the city? A deeded parking spot may be just what you need. We recently created a new page here on the Boston Condo Blog that features deeded parking spots for sale: Boston Parking Spaces.

If you are interested in the purchase of one of the currently available resale parking spaces, or, if you are interested in leveraging the power of exposure on the Boston Condo Blog to list your deeded parking space for sale, please contact us.

Filed Under: Boston Parking Spaces

Tremont Street South End Condo Renovations

March 31, 2008 By Boston Real Estate Observer

Perhaps you have noticed it as well, Tremont Street in the South End has become a hotbed of high end condo renovations. From Berkeley Street down to Massachusetts Avenue, renovations abound from individual brownstones, to entire city blocks, raising the bar on expectations when stepping into a rowhouse along tree lined Tremont Street.

Over the past several months, the hard work of developers is coming to fruition at properties like 602 Tremont, 607 Tremont, and 676 Tremont – all high end renovations that are now in various stages of the sales cycle.

602 Tremont Street, a newly renovated four unit brownstone near the southeast corner of Tremont and Dartmouth Streets is a Patrick Ahearn and Connaughton Construction project that sold out quite quickly once it hit the market in late 2007. This development is unique in that it has a large 4 car garage that is split among the units. In addition to housing cars, the garage also serves as the base for a huge deck for the recently sold duplex ground floor unit ($1.34 million). High end all around with this development, nice enough that the developer kept a unit for themselves, a telling sign.

607 Tremont Street is a four unit renovation that sits above the wine emporium on the northeast corner of Tremont and Dartmouth Streets. All three units that are available are two-bedroom one-bathroom, and run from 807 to 898 square feet, and are listed at $615,000 to $629,000. Units offer spacious living rooms with gas fireplaces, and well done (pun intended) chef’s kitchens. Brazilian oak floors, designer marble baths, and fully built-out closets. Units do not include parking, but do include washer and dryer, something that some developers tend to leave out these days.

676 Tremont Street is the first of an entire block renovation of the southern side of Tremont Street between West Newton and Rutland Streets. 676 Tremont is a five unit renovation, and the anchor to much more to come on this block – 676 has only one unit remaining, while the others are Under Agreement or have already sold.

We’re working with multiple Buyers who are interested in such properties, those that are truly move in ready, and situated on Tremont Street, in the northern part of the South End, still in the heart of the neighborhood feel that the South End provides, but quite close to the “city” life offered by other Boston neighborhoods. For more information on these developments, or to tour a unit, please contact us today.

Filed Under: South End Condos Tagged With: 02118 Boston Condos, 602 Tremont Street, 607 Tremont Street, 676 Tremont Street, Tremont Street Condos

Atelier 505 Luxury Condo with Outdoor Space

March 28, 2008 By Boston Real Estate Observer

The Atelier 505 building on Tremont Street in an exquisite location in the South End remains one of the premier properties in that neighborhood. Turnover is relatively low in the luxury development, however, a recent listing with private outdoor space recently became available: Unit 417, a 1,364 square foot 1 bedroom 1.5 bathroom unit with a 230+ square foot patio and one deeded garage parking space – list price is $1,249,000.

The Atelier location puts you only a short walk from both the restaurants and neighborhood feel of the South End, and the bustling city center. For more information about Atelier, or the South End, please contact us.

Filed Under: South End Condos Tagged With: 02116 Boston Condos, Atelier 505, Tremont Street Condos

Ritz Carlton Flush with Available Condos

March 25, 2008 By Boston Real Estate Observer

The number of available condos at the Boston Ritz Carlton Towers have continued to tick up over the past several months, with 16 currently available units for sale, and another 6 currently Under Agreement – there has been a lot of action at the luxury Midtown location.

There aren’t too many developments that rival the Ritz in terms of size, and availability of units, perhaps Harbor Towers is the only one (see Interesting Week for Boston Condo Pricing for further commentary on what is happening at Harbor Towers). The Ritz, however, is a classic concierge property that has a strong brand name going for it. Price per square foot is currently all over the map at the Ritz, stretching from $570 to $1,600 (list prices from $699K – $5.295 million).

All Ritz Carlton Listings: Ritz Carlton Condos (23.9 MB PDF with photos)

Why the build up in inventory at the Ritz? Quite possibly we’re seeing such a trend because of the new ultra luxury developments that are hitting the market, be that 45 Province right nearby, the Clarendon Back Bay, Mandarin Oriental, Bryant on Columbus, Battery Wharf, or even the Intercontinental, which is quite similar in genre to the Ritz. The Ritz was built in 2000, so it is a relatively new property, but perhaps does not have the same freshness, ceiling height, amenities, or location of other new developments in downtown Boston. There are many different unit types and styles at the Ritz, yet a fair amount of the units have more of an old world type charm to them versus some of the cleaner lines of more recent developments. Nonetheless, the higher units provide commanding views of the city, the Common, the Charles River, and the Harbor.

Filed Under: Midtown Condos Tagged With: 02111 Boston Condos, Boston Ritz Carlton

Neiman Marcus to Pop its Top

March 23, 2008 By Boston Real Estate Observer

In more suburban residential real estate, you’ll oftentimes hear the phrases “scrape off” and “pop the top”, referring to buying a home namely for the land and bulldozing the house down to build something bigger and better, and buying a one-story ranch style home and adding an additional level to it, respectively. Boston may be poised for the latter. The Boston Courant ran a story last year that covered several new large-scale developments (both commercial and residential) that were in the works for Boston, and one of those has been getting more press lately: the high-rise build out of the Neiman Marcus store.

The potential build of a 47-story tower over the top of Neiman Marcus near Copley Square, adding a reported 300 luxury condo units to the area, is in the works. Our sources at the Boston Redevelopment Authority have received a Letter of Intent (LOI) for project submittal from Simon Property Group (Developer), so the process has officially begun.

If built, this would be the grand daddy of the Back Bay in terms of residential condo tower height, and would provide owners on high floors unparalleled views of the city, Copley Place, and the Charles River.

What’s interesting to note is that the Wall Street Journal just published a front page weekend edition story entitled Woes in Condo Market Build As New Supply Floods Cities, which speaks to the troubles that some cities such as Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and San Diego (no mention of Boston was made) are experiencing where condo developments in the pipeline are having difficulty selling out, shifting direction to rentals, or are being canceled all together. The rising supply is a reflection of the picture in 2004 through 2006 — a time of huge demand for condos. Speculation was rampant as investors believed empty nesters and young professionals seeking an urban experience akin to what they watched on “Friends” would prop up the condo market for years.

The downtown Boston real estate market has remained strong (see No Real Estate Crisis in Boston), and condo developments are continuing to break ground and come online (take the Bryant on Columbus, the Clarendon Back Bay, and 285 Columbus Lofts for instance, all within 2 blocks of the potential Copley Place tower). We have seen projects move from for sale condos to rentals, take Avenir, and Harbovriew for instance. However, there may be good reason for such “failures” as for sale condo developments (see Harborview Navy Yard Fails, Now Luxury Rental). We’ll stay close to this new development near the heart of the Back Bay, should it be built, it will be a grand addition to the area.

Filed Under: Back Bay Condos

Cheap South End Listing

March 22, 2008 By Boston Real Estate Observer

For a list of all available deeded parking spaces in downtown Boston for sale, please see our Boston Parking Spaces page.

A $62,500 South End listing hit the Boston MLS this morning. Unfortunately for those out there searching for a bargain South End piece of property, it’s a garage parking space at Wilkes Passage, rather than a condo itself. According tot he listing agent, it’s the best single parking space available, is a large end space, which is easy to navigate, and is next to a pole for added security against wayward doors.

At this time, there is also a tandem parking slot (with a capacity of 2 cars) for sale at Wilkes Passage for $82,500.

Filed Under: South End Condos Tagged With: Boston Parking Spaces