After two years of (re)construction, closings at the luxury Zero Marlborough building began in September of 2008. Anticipation grew as the art deco 12-unit building was transformed into one of the latest boutique concierge buildings in the Back Bay, sitting in an ideal location at the corner of Arlington and Marlborough Streets, adjacent to the Public Garden. Quietly, Zero Marlborough has come very close in unseating the Mandarin Oriental for consistently driving the highest price per square foot values in the Back Bay (and the city for that matter) with closing prices averaging approximately $1,400 per square foot – the Mandarin, over the course of its 52 closings, has an average price per square foot of over $1,500.
Back Bay housing prices have stayed resilient over the past year, with average and median prices increasing substantially when looking at performance over the same 3 month period from 2008 to 2009
January 1, 2008 – March 25, 2008
Back Bay Condos Sold: 70
Back Bay Average Sales Price: $1,185,402
Back Bay Median Sales Price: $671,250
Back Bay Average Price per Square Foot: $793
Back Bay Average Days on Market: 107
January 1, 2009 – March 25, 2009
Back Bay Condos Sold: 47
Back Bay Average Sales Price: $1,334,491
Back Bay Median Sales Price: $781,000
Back Bay Average Price per Square Foot: $785
Back Bay Average Days on Market: 155
It’s interesting to note that these numbers are not inflated by ultra-luxury closings that would include Zero Marlborough or Back Bay Boston condos at the Mandarin Oriental, as there have been no closings for either of these two buildings during the first quarter of 2008 or 2009.
8 of the 12 units at Zero Marlborough have sold, the 4 that remain for sale are all 3,300+ square foot 3+ bedroom 3.5 bathroom units listed for sale between $4,669,000 and $4,765,000 (approximately $1,421 per square foot).
Keith Munsell 
