A complete list of all open houses in the Back Bay of Boston on Sunday, July 31, 2011.

Please contact me for complete details and to set up private showings.

Above, 106 Marlborough Street #6, Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts. Shelagh Brennan of Cabot & Company is the real estate agent.

Below, a complete list of all single-family and condominium homes with open houses scheduled for the weekend of July 24, 2011.

Please contact me for detailed information and to set up private showings.

Above, 1 Lime Street, Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts. Paul Whaley of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage is the listing agent.

RentJuice is a national rental database used by landlords, real estate agents, and renters / tenants to post, search, and find apartments for rent. Open for just two years, the company has rapidly become the default database for real estate agents in all the cities it currently covers.

For the first time, RentJuice has compiled its Boston apartment data and released the results to the general public.

What their data shows is that most apartments in Boston rent for September 1 occupancy – as much as 79% of all apartments being listed for rent.

That’s a startling figure. Obviously, a lot of what’s driving that is college students looking for housing for the school year.

The unintentional effect is that, most everyone else ends up going on that schedule. Landlords who rent to “everyone”, students and professionals, want to have their apartments available for September 1, so they often force tenants to sign September 1 – August 31 leases.

No landlord wants to be stuck with an apartment to rent in January or February – people just don’t move then, unless it’s a job relocation or something similar changing their lives.

Because there’s huge demand, and limited supply, this puts pressure on prices – upward pressure. That’s why tenants often have to pay brokers’ fees in order to secure an apartment.

So, in a certain way, the system as its unfurled is jigged against tenants.

RentJuice has done an excellent job of collecting data and presenting the results. I do have major issues right now with drawing any conclusions, however. Even RentJuice would probably agree, right now, its reports are works in progress.

The reports only include rentals put into the RentJuice system; not all apartments available for rent. So, craiglist and landlord-direct apartments are not included. These might often be available for less than what is offered by brokers. (Basically, you’re paying your agent to find you an apartment so you don’t have to waste your time on craigslist hour after hour.)

For example, RentJuice reports that Kendall Square and East Cambridge have higher average rents than its overall average.

That’s because the many apartments available out there are in new, large, high-rise, full-service buildings (Watermark and Third Square) whereas other neighborhoods have a much-wider selection from which to choose (Back Bay, Beacon Hill, South End).

So, take the data with a grain of salt; it’s not exhaustive and it’s not complete. (Again, not that they’re saying it is …)

If you’d like to see the full report, have any questions about rentals / apartments, or would like to see apartments, please let me know.

A one of a kind condominium home as just hit the market. Located on the edge of the South End, bordering the Back Bay, it’s a penthouse home located in the Albert Pope building, at 221 Columbus Ave. The price is $7,200,000.

With ~3,500 square feet of interior space and another ~3,500 in private balcony / garden space, it’s a very unique property. The property was designed for and by the developer of the Pope Building condo conversion. You may already know it because of its amazing rooftop greenery, visible from every direction.

From inside, you have panoramic views from its many wide, large windows. There are three bedrooms, two and ½-half baths, and two fireplaces. Many rooms are expansive in size, allowing for personalization (as well as being amazing party space). The home comes with two deeded parking spaces.

It’s an awesome property that would make a great home. Please let me know if you’d like to learn more or to set up a private showing.

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Above, 221 Columbus Ave #800 (Albert Pope building), South End, Boston, Massachusetts. Amy Jacobs of Otis & Ahearn is the listing agent.

Which Boston neighborhood do you live in? Are you sure?

The Boston Globe unravels the mystery of Boston’s neighborhoods’ borders in an article today.

It’s a common debate/discussion in the local real estate community. Real estate agents are accused of, at times expanding the borders (to give more appeal to listings) and shrinking them (to exclude things such as crime and blight). For instance, the South End’s borders are fluid and ill-defined. To agents, it’s often Massachusetts Ave used as the border to the west, except when they have listings on the other side and want to get buyers interested.

The historic record is little help since, as the Globe points out, much of Boston is made of landfill. You can look at old maps, but look to far back and all you’ll see is marshland. Many neighborhoods didn’t even exist before 1850.

Is Kenmore Square in Back Bay or The Fenway, or is it its own neighborhood? What about St. Botolph Street? Is it Back Bay or South End?

Another agent friend of mine had a client who called him up after closing on a condo purchase on Mass Ave. He had just received his first mail at his new address, and the label said, “Mass Ave, Roxbury, Massachusetts”. He freaked out, “I don’t live in Roxbury, do I??”

One answer was, “Yes.” Another was, “No.” The third was, “Why does it matter?”

But, of course, to some it does. A lot. Buying a home means you’re investing not just in a property but in a neighborhood, in the city. A lot of money is riding on your choice, both when you buy and when you sell. Perception is not the same as reality.

For me, I’ve used “South End” and “Roxbury” at different times for the area between Mass Ave and Melnea Cass Blvd. Roxbury doesn’t always work because I think of that as Dudley Square and points around there. I went to Northeastern University in the 1980′s and we always considered the school to be in the Fenway. Since then, they’ve invested millions in development that’s turned the campus around from Huntington to Tremont and Columbus, and now it’s as much a part of Roxbury as the other neighborhoods.

So, I don’t know.

Image above from the Boston Public Library‘s flickr photo stream.