The price of pahking a cah in Bahston has once again made headlines.
I guess another six months has gone by.
Maybe, my post of May 24 should have been entitled, “Buy the Parking, Get the Car for Free”? LOL.
More seriously, for local condo buyers unsecured parking can be a cause for concern. To find out how prevalent secured parking is in Boston neighborhoods, check out my chart. I reviewed condo sales from 2005-2012 to see what percentage of condos for sale offered parking. The parking offered could be rental, assigned, an exclusive use area, or deeded, just so long as it was offered as transferable with the sale. Due to the fact that many listing agents may have included garage parking in both categories, the two categories were not mutually exclusive.
| Area | 1+ Parking | Garage Parking |
| Beacon Hill | 15% | 8% |
| South Boston | 37% | 18% |
| South End | 38% | 16% |
| Charlestown | 46% | 31% |
| Back Bay | 48% | 24% |
| Cambridge | 55% | 33% |
| Jamaica Plain | 60% | 20% |
| Somerville | 70% | 24% |
| Brookline | 74% | 36% |
(Source: Bates Real Estate Report Analysis of MLS data)
Additionally, about two years ago, I had three revealing posts about the cost of parking in Boston and now is a good time to revisit them. One explored the median sales price of condos which offered parking versus condos without parking. Before you say $560K was too much to pay for that parking behind 298 Com Ave, or even that such a purchase should be expected from someone owning a nearby townhouse, you should definitely check out this post. It will give you an idea of the real value of the parking in Back Bay.
Another post I did, broke down the monthly cost of owning a parking space.
The third post, revisited the development story behind the world famous Brimmer Street Garage.
I gotta go now, a space just opened up on Newbury Street.
My featured post in Curbed this week focused on an actual incident that occurred when a buyer of mine said he was considering either buying a condominium or continuing renting and buying a car.
I ran the numbers and was amazed by what I found! If he became a homeowner, not only would he actually own a bigger and better place, but with the money saved over renting, he could throw in the cost of the car and still have a lower monthly payment. Incredible!
Check out the numbers in my post!
Wouldn’t it be cool if when you bought a condo, they threw in the car of your choice as a bonus? Maybe, they are. Check out my post in Curbed and find out why.
My featured column on Curbed this week focuses on the benefits of buying now.
In the post, I discuss how buying now = comparative savings.
I show how through acquisition costs, monthly mortgage payments, and building equity faster, a tremendous amount of comparative money can be saved if you buy now.
How much money?
Check out my post and find out!
If real estate is all about the benjamins, check out my post and find out why now is a great time to buy.
What’s the surcharge you are paying for real estate safety?
My featured column in Curbed focused on the decisions people make to be safe in real estate.
They choose amenities such as safer neighborhoods, upper floors, doorman buildings and long term fixed-rate mortgages.
What are the costs associated with safety?
Check out my column and find out!
In real estate, there are costs associated with hitting the panic button. What are the costs?
The lead for my column at Banker and Tradesman this month was about a veteran Beacon Hill agent who told me he could list a dog house and get five offers on it in 24-hours. Of course, I wondered if the offers would be just a few percentage points in excess of the list price or if the bidding for the dog house get even crazier?
I also pointed out that recently, by my count, there were fewer than five hundred Boston condos available to buy. That total included all the condos available in every Boston neighborhood. In the column I noted that on the same day just two Aprils ago, Boston had around 2,000 condos available for sale. What happened? I speculated, “Did Jillian Michaels yell at the city and force it to radically trim its condo waistline?” My response: “I don’t know, but take it easy Boston, your condo market is looking kind of, well, anorexic.”
The column focused on the low inventory’s affect on prices. I also reviewed inventory for the last five springs and found only one year that Boston condo inventory was even 10% higher on June 1 than it was on April 1. My response to that critical piece of trivia: “Uh,oh”
Check out Banker and Tradesman, the paper of record for Boston real estate. Unfortunately it’s a membership only publication, but if you email me, I will send you the article.
Did this trainer impact Boston’s condo supply?
My featured post on Curbed this week ran a day early.
That’s because it focused on the incredibly tragic events at the Boston Marathon.
My office is so close to the site, that many news reporters now surround it.
The day before the Marathon, I took my son to the finish line, where we took this picture.
I took my son, Jack, down to the finish line. Little did we know, not even 24-hours later, the site would be the focus of world’s attention.
Recently, a co-worker told me he had been involved in a 42-offer situation.
Don’t blame me. Over the last year, many of my columns have been about the Boston real estate market’s absurdly low inventory and super-fast sales.
This week in my featured column on Curbed, I wrote from the future.
You’ll see what I had to say and when I said it.
You might also find concerning the market happenings in May 2013 and thereafter.
My column this week on Curbed was about Above Asking Price Offers.
Which Boston property garnered the offer that went the most over ask?
How much over the asking price did it go?
Which Greater Boston neighborhood is the one where above asking price offers are most prolific?
Check out my column to find out.
This Boston condo’s sales price was the most over ask. Where was it? How much over ask did it sell for? Was it $40,000 more, $80,000 or more than $120,000 over the list price? Check out my column on www.Boston.Curbed.com and find out.
Banker and Tradesman, the local real estate publication of record, ran my first column: “Want to Buy a Boston Property? Take a Number.”
The column discusses the extraordinary sales pace of the Boston Condominium Market and the amount of offers salable properties–like the one in the Brookline building pictured below– are receiving.
Check out my featured column on www.Boston.Curbed.com this week and find out why this building is “Boston’s Hottest Condo Development.”
Boston’s Hottest Condo Development.
About David Bates
The Bates Real Estate Report is an original content blog about the Greater Boston real estate market. The reports focus primarily on the Greater Boston condominium market, and at the same time can touch on other items of interest and happenings of note in the general Boston market. It is written by a real estate agent who works the condo market and who has a passion for Boston real estate. In addition to this blog, his commentary on the market can now be seen in a variety of leading local real estate publications. If you like his insights, obviously, you should consider using him as an agent.
Email: DavidBatesSothebys@Gmail.com
Cell: 617-413-6345
