If I were a developer with lots of money looking for a place to develop on a large scale (not just one small building but more like a complex or whole neighborhood) the first place I would look to is East Boston.  Other than the fact that it hold’s a stigma of a “dirty” part of town, it really does have a lot going for it:

• Proximity to the city by car
• MBTA availability
• Amazing skyline views
• Underdeveloped land
• Boat dockage
• Low prices

They have already started developing the interior of East Boston with projects like 156 Porter and the Paris Flats which have been met with but they had left the most desirable area, the waterfront, fairly untouched. 

That has begun to change.  Maverick Landing is almost completed with consists of 426 units of housing and the East Pier development will include up to 540 condo units and many other amenities.  Developers are also bidding on 3 lots which consist of the former Donald McKay shipyard which could house up to 200 condos and a marina.

For more information on this, read the article titled Sailing ahead on the waterfront – By Matt Viser of the Boston Globe or feel free to contact me!

 

  

One of today’s top stories on CNN.com is titled 5 Bubble Proof Markets.  Guess who was in the top 5?  Yup, good ole’ Boston.  In pretty fine company too with the top 5 including San Francisco, NYC, Seattle, and Los Angeles. 

The article isn’t guaranteeing that we won’t see some short-term downward swings in these markets, but according to Todd Sinai, an associate professor of real estate at the Wharton School and coauthor of a recently released study called “Superstar Cities” the long-term trends are “so strongly upward that if you’re willing to buy and hold, it’s a good strategy.”

Below are some of the criteria for a bubble-proof city:

• Limits on the supply of new land and buildings
• Trends in household income

The article states that “prices are likely to keep climbing in cities where poor and middle-class households are being nudged out by rich ones. The phenomenon skews prices higher than the national average because more dollars are chasing fewer properties.”

Whether this is a good or bad thing for us in general I don’t know, but I do know that it’s good news for those of you who are still a bit tentative about entering this real estate market.  I encourage you to read the article which I have linked above and feel free to contact me or comment to discuss this more!

With rates still being historically low and prices settling, the reasons to buy are adding up.  Incase that wasn’t enough, many developers and sellers are offering other incentives including price protection and tickets to different events.

Developers of such projects such as Avenir on Canal St. and the Ocean Club in Revere are currently offering guarantees that if you purchase one of their condo units and another similar unit down the line sells for cheaper, you will get the cheaper price.  You basically can’t lose.

Other developers are offering to pay your condo fees for a year, pay for your parking space, cover your closing cost, and even offering Patriots tickets!

To find out if the development you are interested in is offering any incentives please contact me, I’d be happy to help!

…especially when it comes to square footage.  I was just browsing the Globe’s www.Boston.com and came across an article titled When Smaller is Better by Janice O’Leary. 

It basically spoke about how even in the age of the McMansion many people are looking for something a bit smaller.  These people for the most part, are empty nesters and retirees.  They don’t need the extra bedrooms now that the kids are gone and they don’t want to be hassled with renovations and yard work. But they do want to be closer to cultural attractions and restaurants. 

So, instead of buying a smaller home which are sometimes really tough to find, these people are flocking to condos.  This helps answer some of the questions about the current volume of condo projects still being built even with the market trending slightly downward.  While single homes prices have been dropping fairly dramatically, the demand for condos is still quite high.

So, to make a long story short, if you are downsizing….come to Boston, we have some great new places for you!

 

Well….not at the actual Bryant…considering so far it is just a hole in the ground, but I did attend a broker’s open house and was able to see the finishes for the bathrooms and kitchens as well as a miniature scale model of one of the units.

The project, which is being marketed by Otis & Ahearn, looks very interesting.  It has some very creative features including all 50 units being accessed directly by elevator (very NYC) and no units being less than 2 bedrooms (so far….we will see if this holds up) and au pair suites available for purchase as well.

They are marketing these towards the empty nester.  Someone coming from a large house in the suburbs is usually in for a big surprise with most units in the city being much smaller than what they are used to and they also usually have to get used to paying condo fees equal or greater than $1/sq. ft.  However, with the Bryants units being at least 2 bedrooms and at least 1700 sq. ft this solves the space issue, and with condo fees being only .50/sq. ft. (estimated).

Prices are estimated to start at around $1 million and go up to around $3 million with an expected completion date around the sometime late 2007 (my guess would be more like the Spring of 2008).

Great project though….contact me to find out more!