January 30, 2008

What’s “average” in Brookline and Brighton?

Did you know that the average price of a single family home in Brookline in 2007 was about $1.4 million? The average price of a Brookline condo was much less — $500,000 — while the average price of a Brighton condo was $317,000.

So I was curious: what did all that money really get you in 2007?

Well, after combing past sales, this is what I came up with:  In Brighton, you might get a three bedroom, 1220 square foot condo (selling price $320K in August) on Glenville Avenue. That part of Brighton is thick on the students, so chances are, this may have been an “investor’s” unit (read falling apart). Or you might have gotten something substantially smaller, a 1001 square foot one bedroom on Cummings Road, that was closer to Brookline and further from the student fray. Over on Chiswick, you could get a 944 square foot, two bedroom condo with access to the B, C and D lines. Always a big plus. In my own experience, a really nice condo in a building that is not riddled with students edges closer to the $350K range.

And what did $500K buy you in Brookline? Well, sort of what $317K got you in Brighton, but without the students. Typical is a two bedroom condo of about 1231 square feet on Washington Street selling for $489.5K.  In September, a three bedroom, 1.5 bathroom of 1470 square feet sold for $480K. And in October, a basement three bedroom condo of 1600 square feet sold for $480K. Because there are more owner-occupants in Brookline, units usually are in better condition than similar units in Brighton.

And finally, what of 1.4 million? Well, for that princely sum you might expect a mansion. I don’t know about that, but you could get a couple of more bedrooms. A 6 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom, 3,144 square foot house sold on Searle Avenue in August 2007 for $1,489,000. At 15 Hancock Road, a five bedroom, 4 bathroom house sold for $1,464,750. These houses generally have yards and curb appeal.

With these prices, I hate to think what happens when you’re hoping to buy a place that’s “above average!”