I recently sat down with Brian Perry, a real
estate agent in Gibson Sotheby’s South End office. He
does a lot of work with developers and sellers interested in condos
in the Boston area. We chatted about the state of the condo market
in the South
End, Back
Bay and Boston
in general.
Boston
is one of the most unique metropolitan areas in the United States.
Were an older city with a great selection of condos. Whether youre
looking for upscale Boston luxury properties or older homes with
antique charm, our city has it. Winston Churchhill once famously
called Commonwealth Avenue in the Back
Bay the most beautiful street in the world, speaking of course
of all the beautiful Brownstones.
Like the rest of the country, Boston suffered during the recent
real estate slump. Many potential sellers holding off on putting
their homes on the market, for fear of low pricing. Many of these
sellers opted to either wait until the market improved or opted to
rent out their vacant condos.
But the market is recovering, Brian said during our chat. We are
seeing promising signs. Since the first of the year we have seen
some really good activity, particularly in the $700k – $1.3m range.
I had several listings go under agreement in the last month.
These properties, Brian continued theyve been going under
agreement very close to asking price. Weve also been in multiple
offer situations, which is great.
Several local and national publications seem to agree with
Brians assessment. The Boston Globe revealed in a
recent story that the condo market in Boston is faring very
well. Sales have increased by 3.8 percent and median selling prices
rose by 5.4 percent over last year.
Sales in luxury buildings also jumped by an impressive 22.15
percent in 2010 compared with the previous year, according to
Listing Information
Network, a local company that tracks condo sales in downtown
Boston.
There has also been a big uptick in developer activity. Brain
told me as we discussed the topic. Condo projects that were once
stalled seem to be coming back to life. We havent seen this in
several years. Im not just talking about small 3 – 6 unit
buildings, but 20 – 40 unit developments, too. A lot of these units
have been selling pre-construction, too. This is a great sign for
the coming spring market.
Our outlook for the coming year in Boston condos? Very positive,
if recent trends continue. Were looking forward to a pretty good
market; regardless of if youre looking for a luxury condo or an
antique masterpiece.
Brian Perry can be found at brian-perry.com and on Twitter
@BrianPerryRE.
He serves Boston neighborhoods with over fifteen years of real
estate experience.