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Boston Market Trends: Key Takeaways

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Boston’s market is always active, with the real estate, health care, and technology sectors being the major economic precursors in this city. The tech industry in the city expanded by 8% in 2024 due to high demand and a shortage of supply, and the median home price reached $860,000. Due to an upsurge in the population by 4% in the last five years, every investor focuses on Boston.

Why do these trends matter? To investors, they indicate where prospects are. To businesses, they shed light on prospects and constraints. To residents, they assist in deciphering the new high costs and transforming neighborhoods. Knowledge is ever powerful—is it not perfect that we need to be updated?

Top Suburbs for Luxury Living

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Boston is a historical, multicultural city with administrative functions and a special energy. However, for most people, luxury living only exists in their visions, and for others, this implies looking beyond the city's roads. The suburbs are well-suited around Boston, giving people safe, serene living and the best lifestyle that comes with an upscale neighborhood.

They want to picture themselves in spacious homes with a beautiful view of the green surroundings and other conveniences within the neighborhood, just a few miles away from the city. These suburbs offer the best, from large mansions and private schools to excellent shopping and dining facilities.

First-Time Real Estate Buyers' Guide to Boston

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Boston is a city of character, and unlike many other cities, it retains much of the Renaissance beauty and its modern taste. It is competitive, but the payoff is great—Boston has a strong economy with marvelous schools, active industries, and tremendous cultural depth. This is not a place for residents only, but it is a sure bet for real estate investors.

Yet, home buying-especially first-time home buying requires choice. Budgeting from preparation to the fundamental idea of curling up with understanding neighborhoods. This guide will help you get through them to enter Boston’s market confidently. Let’s get started!

Spotlight: Best Value Condos in Boston

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Boston enjoys a quite developed culture, historical background, and a blossoming real estate industry. It is a place where people need homes, and the demand usually influences the cost of the homes. Everyone who wants to get a house here is simultaneously searching and looking for an interesting case.

Condos are popular for many because they provide the most desirable aspects of living in a house and an apartment. However, with Boston being its competitive market, finding the one that fits the affordable price range and a top-notch location feels like a mission impossible. That’s the premise behind the concept of ‘best value’ or homes in the sweet spot between price, features, and location.

Navigating New Construction Deals

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There are raw real estate deals in Boston at the present moment. With great culture and lively communities, people of all ages are still interested in purchasing property in the city. In recent years, however, new construction has received much attention. Featuring everything from sleek contemporary condominiums to magnificent executive townhouses, these projects provide sophisticated, no-maintenance living.

Investing in new construction is different from buying a typical house, as there are differences. The process can be thrilling as well as exhausting. Of course, there are contracts to read, deadlines to fulfill, and specific features to remember.

Investment Opportunities in Cambridge

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Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a modern town located near Boston. The state is famous for its history and educational centers, such as Harvard and MIT. It is a perfect example of the interrelation between the conservative approach and the tendency toward innovation.

Cambridge has slowly metamorphosed into a technological city with giant technology companies, biotechnology firms, and startup organizations. Labs for the latest ideas, brilliant people, and several potential companies you would ever dream of. It also makes it appealing to investors who wish to invest in industries defining the future.

Luxury Properties: What Makes the Cut?

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Today, luxury properties are quite popular in Boston. This ancient town maintains its traditional appeal with a mix of contemporary sophistication, thus attracting premium real estate consumers. Boston has something to offer the class seeker, from its old-world cobbled pathways to glamorous skyscrapers.

What is it that makes Boston favorable to luxury housing seekers, then? First, the country is one of the world's most historical and culturally interesting places. This has earned the city some of the best museums, landmarks, and artistic feel. Join that the finance, technology, and healthcare sectors drive a stable Economy and growth. Of course, there is no need to remember that numerous outstanding education facilities, such as Harvard University or MIT, attract talent and wealth internationally.

Market Forecast for 2025

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The real estate market in Boston has been volatile, particularly in the last few years. It increased during the pandemic due to the low cost of funds and high demand. However, this cooled off in 2024 due to rising rates and economic uncertainty. Now, all eyes are on 2025. What’s next?

Predicting the future is not just for analysts and geeks. It becomes important for all those affiliated with the real estate business. Those with capital would like to know where to invest. This knowledge is important to any homeowner since they must know the property's value. Developers simply need to make correct assumptions about trends. Doing secondary research enables everybody to make better decisions based on a good market forecast.

Home Selling Tips for Expired Listings

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Staging a home for the second time can be discouraging, especially if it didn’t sell in the first round, but it is not the end of the world. Even many homes that fail to attract buyers initially can attract them when the right approach is used. By the end of August 2024, roughly 48% of housing inventory remained in the market and unused for over 60 days, indicating that this period was the worst in housing un-saleability since 2019. This supports the idea that homes do not readily find new owners immediately, but they do find them with little effort and the correct strategy.

If your listing contract has ended, you should pause to analyze the mistake. Was it the price? The presentation? Perhaps it’s just that minute difference in time and space? Knowing why your home failed to attract a buyer in the first instance creates the awareness that guarantees the home a better market in the second. Since homes today take an average of 37 days to get under contract in the United States, six days longer than a year ago, patience pays. Marketing your property requires coming up with new and effective approaches to the former strategies of selling your house.

Boston’s Hidden Real Estate Gems

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Boston's real estate market is excellent. The city is great to live in, from elegant brownstones in the historic downtown to stylish new condos. But come on, who is not searching for the perfect place to eat? And sometimes, it can be tricky. Spaces are expensive, numerous people are in the niche, and the better locations are always booked quickly.

That is when the real treasures come into play. These are the properties that will do nothing to attract attention to themselves. These are not the most spectacular and attractive listings you come across, but are packed with opportunities. Perhaps they’re great locations, have character-based architectural designs, or wait for some new paint to show off. The question is not what is out there but how to find it and, maybe more importantly, what to seek out.

Slick New Cambridge Apartment Building Abuts Natural Preserve

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Fuse Cambridge is a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll.

There is living in the city and there is living in nature, and then there is living at Fuse Cambridge, the slick new 244-unit Cambridge Apartment building that abuts the 120-acre Alewife Brook Reservation. Just in front of Fuse Cambridge are signs of the modern world’s vitality and growth, and a few hundred yards right side facing is the convenient Alewife Station, where commuters go near and far by bus and Red Line train. But behind Fuse Cambridge, just beyond the two big old willow trees visible from this ground up apartment building’s 20-foot high transparent lobby, Alewife Brook Reservation makes its gracious presence known.

Sean Sacks, a director with Hines, the 60 year old company responsible for Fuse Cambridge, told me that the development goals included creating a visual and physical connection to nature. As a result, tenants and staff can admire the nature preserve’s scenic trails and pretty wooden boardwalks, enjoy water and woodland views, and on occasion spot diverse wildlife from a variety of vantage points in the building, including the double height lobby and the raised pool deck. Nathan Lopez with Bozzuto, the company responsible for leasing up Fuse Cambridge, said 56% of the building’s apartments are in the direction of this natural marvel that has been referred to as “an urban gem.”

Beacon Hill Garage Parking Space Asks Record Price

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The exit of the famous Brimmer Street Garage, where the first parking space condominiums were developed in 1979.

Listing remarks for MLS #71926193, Unit #236 at 70 Brimmer Street, describe it as “A very rare opportunity to purchase garage parking in Beacon Hill at the coveted Brimmer Street Garage!“

Of course, very rare opportunities come at a price. So, how much do they want for this very rare opportunity? $650,000, a price that’s more expensive than half the Boston condos currently on market, and a by the square foot price ($3801) that surpasses the square foot cost of the Millennium Tower penthouse.

Boston Parking Spaces That Cost Over $1 Million

Unlike Beacon Hill, a high percentage of Back Bay condominiums have parking options. A review of a recent 12-month sales period shows that the majority of closed condo transactions in the Back Bay included secured parking options. That is, for 54 percent of the condominiums sold, the condominium either came with parking that was assigned, deeded, privileged or — at bare minimum — had the option of being purchased.

What’s the value of parking in Back Bay? One broker called this ”a trick question.” He might be right. For starters, like the real estate in Back Bay, the value of a parking space is all about location, location, location. Parking on the first block of Com Ave has sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Yet parking at the garage behind the Somerset at 400 Com Ave recently sold for “only” $75K. And the four parking spaces (2 tandems) behind 511 Beacon street sold in May for “just” $150,000 total.

Get My FREE Ebook About Boston Condos

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My free Ebook puts into context the condominiums in nine Greater Boston markets. This short–to the point–ebook is an excellent reference for Greater Boston condominium buyers and sellers. Not only do the neighborhood profiles found in CONTEXT make it easy to see how a specific condominium compares to other condominiums typically sold in a neighborhood, CONTEXT also clearly shows how nine of the most important and most valuable Greater Boston condominium neighborhoods compare on 17 different metrics. If you want to know how a condo or neighborhood compares in median sales price, median price paid per square foot, average condo fee, as well as the likelihood of finding renovated condos, condos with a view, a deck or parking, and much more, then get CONTEXT.

Batch Yard Amenities Are As Sweet As Candy

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Recently, I visited The Batch Yard, the new Everett apartments on the site of the former Charleston Chew factory.

From my office in Back Bay, it’s about six miles and I got there in about 16 minutes. Yet, Batch Yard really feels like only a hop, skip and a jump to Boston. For instance, as soon as I passed the Science Museum, I felt like I was halfway. And a moment later, when I took a left after Bunker Hill Community College on to Route 99, I felt like I was heading down a final straightaway to Batch Yard.

Breaking Down the First 50 Sales at 22 Liberty

photo credit: Melissa Blackall photography

Work is done at 22 Liberty (building on left) and the luxury Seaport condos have started closing.

Perhaps the most anticipated and most secretive Boston condo development in recent memory is 22 Liberty in the Seaport. The Fallon Company project is the first condominium development to come to market and close in the Seaport, Boston’s new “it” neighborhood. Additionally, the ultra-luxury ask prices of 22 Liberty have no doubt inspired the condominium development of other Seaport lots and perhaps impacted condominium pricing throughout the Hub. Yet, the developer of 22 Liberty has kept his real estate cards so close to the vest that not much is known about the sales. That is until now. I looked up 54 of the first condos to go to record in the 108 unit development and all you have to do is click “Continued” to see what I found for sale prices, values paid per square foot, the premiums paid, and other interesting data.

50 Key Massachusetts Towns Ranked by Property Tax Rate

Do you want to lower your monthly real estate payment?

Buy in a community with a low real estate tax rate.

Towns assess your home’s property tax contribution by first having the assessing department determine a value for your home and then multiplying the value by the town’s property tax rate. You’ll owe the town x number of dollars per thousand of the value assessment. So if you bought your $500K assessed home in Dover ($11.70 per thousand assessed) instead of Sherborn ($17.72 per thousand assessed), you’d pay $5,850 (500x$11.70=$5,850) in annual property taxes instead of $8,860 (500x$17.72=$8,860). That’s a savings of $250 a month, $3,000 a year or $30,000 over 10 years.

Key Differences Between Millennium Place and Millennium Tower

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There’s a big, big reason – a towering, but not-so-secret justification – why Millennium Place owners are selling their precious condominiums in a building and association they love. One Millennium Place owner I spoke with may have succinctly explained why more than twice as many MP condo owners have hung for sale signs in the first four months of 2016 as did in the first four months of 2015: she revealed that many of her neighbors are buying condos at the soon-to-be-completed Millennium Tower.

Of course, MP owners were among the first to have an opportunity to buy at MT, but why are so many selling in Millennium Place to buy in Millennium Tower, a new development just blocks away? In large part, it’s because Millennium Tower amenities trump Millennium Place amenities.

Home Loan - New Financial Opportunity for Boston Citizens

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When you decide to buy, improve or build a home and do not have the money you need, you must know the most effective financing program you can choose. You can choose a real estate loan or a home loan, depending on the amount of money you have, the bank's financing, or the guarantee required of you. Both real estate and mortgage loans have their advantages and disadvantages, which you need to know before deciding.

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