Real Estate Observer
Boston’s Mayor Menino is inviting individuals, businesses and institutions to partner with the City by volunteering their time and resources to help support the Boston Shines event this weekend.
Boston Shines 2007 is the 5th annual citywide neighborhood cleanup effort taking place on Friday and Saturday, April 27 – 28, 2007. Visit the Boston Shine’s website for further details on how you can participate.
The condos at 50 Commonwealth Avenue in the Back Bay of Boston are part of a pre-war New York style building. At just over 40 units, the residences at 50 Commonwealth provide an intimate environment that is just steps from the Public Garden.
Currently, there are two condos for sale in the building, unit 204 and unit 403. Both units have very nice finishes, and a large common roof deck that offers great Back Bay views.
50 Commonwealth Unit 204 (offered at $879,000) is 1,210 square feet, has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and one fireplace. This is a corner unit, with upscale appliances, and good attention to detail.
50 Commonwealth Unit 403 (offered at $625,000) is a one-bedroom, one-bathroom 795 square foot condo that offers views of Commonwealth Ave and Berkeley, as well as a newly renovated kitchen.
Price per square foot on these two units, $726 per foot and $786 per foot respectively are in-line (slightly higher average) with two previous units that sold in the building in the past year, especially considering kitchen updates and appliances.
Beginning July 1, 2007, all Massachusetts residents over the age of 18 must obtain health insurance that meets minimum coverage requirements. Individuals who cannot show proof of health insurance coverage by December 31, 2007, will lose their personal income tax exemption when filing their 2007 income taxes.
On Thursday, April 26, 2007 from 6:30-8:00pm at the Jury’s Hotel, our friends at Mass Inc, a public policy think tank, is hosting a Real Talk event on the Massachusetts health care law. As we have mentioned before, the Real Talk series is interactive and fun, and hey, there is free food afterwards!
The Real Deal The Real Estate Pros TV show, which is the “new and improved” Flip This House series which follows Richard Davis’ Trademark Properties as they buy lemons and make lemonade, recently aired. The first ran Saturday on TLC, and overall, the show was a home run.
The new show is professionally done, filled with much of the same antics as the previous Flip This House series (even a run in the with the police), and leaves you motivated to go out and buy a flip.
This past Saturday’s show followed Davis as he purchased, renovated, and tried to sell a house that was on the market for over nine months and had not sold (more than likely for the moisture issue in the floors, the murky pool, and the claustrophobic kitchen).
The show almost exclusively focused on Richard, and Ginger, Richard’s investment coordinator, and featured studio one-on-one interviews, rather than the “drive in your car and talk to the camera” interviews from previous shows.
Overall, a great first episode, and we suggest the following:
For further background on The Real Deal The Real Estate Pros TV show, see our previous posts (Flip This House History, and The Real Deal Launches).
NOTE: Please read the latest news regarding the lofts at 65 Broad Street.
If you’ve had your eye on the loft conversion at 65 Broad Street, you need to act quickly. There were five remaining units as of last week, when an auction took place – the auction sold one of the five units without a reserve or minimum to a private party for $400,000 (or almost $640/foot), and the remaining four units are undergoing a bidding process that ends on Monday April 23, 2007. Should you want to get in on the fun, the process is as follows:
Obviously not your typical buying circumstances, but it does make for some great anticipation. Floor plans for the remaining units, as well as pictures of the model unit that sold recently are below.
Floor Plans for Remaining Units at 65 Broad Street:
The Real Deal, the new TV show chronicling Richard Davis’ Trademark Properties team, premieres this Saturday, April 21 at 9:00pm EST on TLC (channel 31 here in Boston).
In the first episode, Team Trademark tackles the impossible by investing in a house that’s been on the market for almost a year. They renovate a five bedroom eye-sore with mold and make it a thing of beauty in just five days. But this job comes with a myriad of problems.
Richard Davis and his crew were formerly on Flip This House as part of the A&E lineup, until a lawsuit separated the parties – read more from our previous Flip This House post to get caught up with background information.
Claremont Park in the South End is a quiet Boston street that has three prime South End condos for sale. Flanked by The Columbus Cafe (great service) and The House of Siam (great pineapple fried rice), Claremont Park condos are nestled nicely into the South End right off of the northwest corridor separating the Back from the South End.
We are going to highlight the three available Claremont Park condos ranging in size from 967 to 1,546 square feet, and in price from $489,00 to $869,000. We’re going to put our money on 1 Claremont Park, which we feel gives you the best bang for your buck (at $549 per square foot), and most upside potential for resale after your purchase (low hanging fruit by installing new appliances).
34 Claremont Park (offered at $489,000) has been on the market for almost a year now, and has seen around $100,000 in price reductions – this serves as a lesson to all sellers to price your home appropriately the first time around. [Read more…]
The below statistics represent sold South End Condos from last week, pulled from the MLS – compared to the previous week’s statistics (in parentheses). South End Condos that Sold: 8 (6)
Lowest Price: $215,000 ($286,150)
Median Price: $485,000 ($495,000)
Highest Price: $1,025,000 ($659,000)
Average Price: $562,062 ($478,108)
Average Days on Market (DOM): 121 (100)
Sales Price / Listing Price Ratio: 98% (100%)
Start Date: 4/8/2007
End Date: 4/14/2007
The stats have been holding somewhat steady for the past month, with slight variations when we see a million dollar condo sell. It’s great to see sales to listing price ratios remaining solid, and an overall trend down in days on market.
In the past month, the number of listings in the South End has increased from 234 to 252, while days on market has dropped on average from 134 to 126. We’ll continue to watch the inventory of listings, perhaps signaling a seasonal uptake in properties on the market.
The Million Dollar South End Listing?
You’d like to know a little bit more about the South End million dollar condo that sold you ask? It was a three-bedroom, two-bath 1,500 square foot penthouse at 83 Montgomery Street, which sold for above list price!
Robert Cheruiyot won his second straight Boston Marathon on Monday. Cheruiyot fought the wind and rain to finish in an unofficial time of 2 hours, 14 minutes, 13 seconds. This represents Robert Cheruiyot’s third win in Boston in the past 4 years.
Despite rain, freezing temperatures, and relatively strong winds, the Boston Marathon will go on (at least at this point). All runners have been emailed to tell them it could be a really challenging event and to bring appropriate attire to run in.
Best of luck to those who are braving the elements (and who have qualified)!
Keith Munsell
CPM & Master Lecturer
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Mark Strickland
Realtor & ABR
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Dean Charles
Real Estate Thought Leader
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Bobby Quinn
EcoBroker Certified
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Mark Martin
Broker & President 2mrealty
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