South Salem Opportunities Near Salem State

Wander down Canal Street and Broadway into South Salem, and you might be a little turned off. On one side of Canal you have railroad tracks and electrical substation and post-industrial blight. And on the other, you have a cute little neighborhood that could ride Salem State’s success.

In Charlottesville, VA, real estate is cheap by MA standards — unless it’s near U. Va. Professors & Administrators want to live close to where they teach, and owners compete with prime rentals for space. South Salem could mean a starter home that ends up being the high-priced rental that puts your kids through college. The neighborhoods around college campuses almost always increase rapidly in value if the college is in good shape.

Salem State is a school with an excellent reputation and a diverse population of students and faculty; if my girlfriend had been amenable to a rehab property, and if it weren’t SO very far from 128 South, we could have had twice the house we got — albeit with views of Canal St. & Broadway, and something that looks a robot graveyard instead of my beloved confluence of rivers. There are deals over there still, although that neighborhood seems more fluid than most others (that’s an impression; I have to look at some recent sales to know if it’s true). In any case, when the market is down, you want to look at which places will start to move again first. South Salem is cheap and mobile; go make some money.

51 Charles St., 8 Naples, and 379 LaFayette St. are all pricey homes by English teacher standards — they’re big places in nice shape right near the college, and they range from $380k to over half a million dollars. * Naples was recently reduced!

4 nice Condos are available at:

281 ESSEX ST

And, look at

3 LAURENT RD #1 Salem, MA 01970

Price: $128,800

Beds:	1
Baths:	1
Sq. Ft.:	504
$/Sq. Ft.:	$256
Lot Size:	-
# of Rooms:	3
County:	Essex
MLS#:	70705557
Status:	New
On Redfin:	1 day
New Listing (24 hours)