Archive for March, 2008
March 31, 2008
I bet you thought urban turkeys were just for Brookline and Cambridge, didn’t you? Wrong again, folks. Beacon Hill just had it’s first turkey sighting since, oh, 1800 or so. And while the NPR story paints a pretty grim picture, a few swats with a rolled-up copy of The Beacon Hill Times will send an aggressive tom running for better foliage and lower rents.
While many view it as a hassle, I think the return of the wild turkey to Beacon Hill highlights some of the neighborhood’s most flattering aspects. As the poor bird that got spattered across Route 9 demonstrates, traffic and turkeys don’t mix. Only on quiet, lightly trafficked roads - like those that surround 69 Pinckney Street - could a turkey be expected to survive.
Secondly, it speaks well to the cleanliness of the neighborhood. It should be plenty obvious that Beacon Hill residents are fastidiously, almost obsessively, tidy, what with with all those little dogs walking around, but no little dog - treats, shall we say - left behind to mark their presence. 25-pound birds make 25-pound messes, but no matter how deep into the garden level you get, you won’t find any of them here.
But the real important thing here, as the old real estate saying goes, is location, location, location. It’s no big deal to have clean streets and light traffic in Hopkinton or Westford. But five minute walk from Fanueil Hall? Or the Charles River Esplanade? Or Massachusets General Hospital? The quiet of the country and the convenience of the city are why even the tiniest studios in Beacon Hill fetch nearly $800 per square foot.
Image: Meleagris gallopavo, July 30, 2006. Public domain, original work by Wikipedia user MONGO via Wikimedia Commons.
March 31, 2008
One of the coolest things about New Englanders is that Yankee thrift seems to translate well into environmentalism, particularly where alternative energy and energy conservation are concerned. There’s a really active alternative energy subculture in Massachusetts that brings biodiesel nuts together with solar geeks to dream of the day when we’ll harness the methane from our compost heaps to drive our oil overlords out of business.
So far this week, my heat has kicked on exactly twice. I am deeply, spiritually in love with my wood stove.
My next green upgrade was going to be a tankless water heater. It uses a super-hot element (gas or electric) to heat water as it passes through the unit, giving you unlimited hot water without the need to keep a tank of water hot all the time. They’re pricey, but worth every penny. Our home inspector has one, and he raved about it. But for that $1000-$2000, my friend John may have a better idea.
(*Note: I’ve priced the reconditioned Bosch units at like $400 plus installation; I think I’m getting on of these with my summer teaching money after all).
John Arney, the Zen Wood Master, is seriously planning a waterwheel-driven generator for his farm in Vermont. Hydroelectric is way out of town for me, but he sent me some links today that have me thinking wind may be my next step.
The Cape Wind Project is big; I’m talking more along the lines of the Whisper 100 from Solatron Technologies. The opponents of Cape Wind suck; I think these things are cool and way better looking than solar panels.
The other link he sent me was for a company called Applied Magnets. This stuff isn’t entirely straightforward, but it could be potentially lucrative as hobbies go. You need batteries to charge and discharge, and a way of synching your setup to the power grid. But this is where geek subculture comes in; there are old guys out there just dieing to lecture young people about this stuff. Start in Newburyport this summer; look for the beards.
March 30, 2008
I’m cruising my past blog posts for recent sales. You can, too. As a sampling of properties
that look easy to move and priced to move, you’ll notice the Redfin listings I brought to your attention are now — viola! — data samples that can help you decide what to pay, where to buy, and how likely properties are to hold value and appreciate.
Deleted listings are another story.
There’s a gigantic, hideous anthill of cardboard atrocities looming over 128 on the way up here that started as condos. When the market softened, they became apartments. One caught on fire. There’s a giant red banner on one building that says “Now Leasing!” Making them rentals probably allowed the dopes who built said atrocity to make payments and hope that it would be worth more in a better market; continuing to sell them as condos would have dumped more unsaleable real estate on an already ailing market. So, sometimes you can see what people refuse to give up for soft-market money, or what banks aren’t willing to sell off cheap. That can tell you a thing or two.
However, not every dead listing is really dead. Sometimes, sellers remove a listing for a short period of time so that the listing will appear new in the computer — new listings get a lot more attention than old ones, and if you’re selling, this might not be such a bad way of working the system. Buyers can get ideas — if no one’s bought in 140 days there must be something wrong with it, etc. It’s not rational, so it isn’t uncommon for selling agents to remind us of a property by making it look new to the market.
2 Weber Avenue sold on 1/10/08 for $230k. Goat Hill is a great location, and that was a little gem of a house. I know, because we tried to buy it…for $270. The bank wouldn’t let the seller sell it to me for that — either the seller won the lottery and paid down the mortgage, or the wretched bank bit itself in the foot. I’m kind of pissed off after seeing this….
315 Rantoul Street Apt. 302 sold for 2/14/08 for $105,440.
13 Chestnut Street sold for $235,000 on 1/31/08.
8 Lakeshore Avenue went for $350k on 1/24/08.
Click the image above for a truly disturbing culinary experience!
March 30, 2008
No news this week regarding the Pine Street Inn purchase on Upton Street; however, a Fenway News post from last summer about my NIMBY neighbors included a letter from the co-president of the Union Park Neighborhood Association. It sounded like she wanted to distance the association from the most vocal opponents of the Pine Street Inn:
Both Jerry Frank and Norm Knickle are expressing their own personal views, not the views of the neighborhood association, which has purposely taken no position on this issue. Neither gentleman is an abutter of Hope House. This is a private sale, and the neighborhood association cannot dictate to whom property owners can sell their holdings…
The people of Hope House have been good neighbors, no one disputes that, and the neighborhood will sorely miss them.
HARRIET FINKELSTEIN, Copresident, Union Park Neighborhood Association, Boston
I’m going to guess she was one of the recently-replaced board members. In a sad turn of events, Linda Rodriguez of the South End News referred to Finkelstein as a former board member, Frank as the president, and Knickle as a board-member. According to the South End News:
Norm Knickle, an Upton Street resident for more than three years and a member of the UPNA board, said that their primary concern is the actually the size of the proposed project. Knickle, who refers to the three row homes as a “complex,” said that the three residential homes “will really define the street.”
Norm, buddy, the character of the street was defined long before you blessed the South End with your presence.
Several Upton Street residents placed their homes for sale recently. If you chose to purchase a home on that street, I feel obligated to warn you:
- Hope House operates a transitional-living facility on that street.
- Pine Street Inn will purchase the facility and continue its operation as a transitional-living facility.
- You shouldn’t whine about it; Hope House moved in long before you.
7 Upton Street, #1
Beds: 2/Baths: 2
SQ.FT.: 1750
$/SQ.FT.: 502
$879,000
14 Upton Street, #1
Beds: 2/Baths: 2
SQ.FT.: 1637
$/SQ.FT.: 433
$709,000
27 Upton Street, #3
Beds: 3/Baths: 2
SQ.FT.: 1831
$/SQ.FT.: 791
$1,449,000
And, closest to the “complex”:
46 Upton Street, #2
Beds:1 /Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 645
$/SQ.FT.: 712
$459,000
More of Alyk on the South End
March 30, 2008
Is there really such thing as a bargain in Boston real estate?
I think back ten years. My husband and I were shopping around for a small ”pied-d-terre” in the city. We saw good size one bedrooms for between $85-$100K in prime locations in The Fenway and Brighton. Today, those same apartments cost about three times that amount. Meanwhile, my salary has decidedly NOT increased three-fold. (Has yours?) So it’s pretty hard to see a “bargain” in anything on the market these days. And unlike some who believe that prices will eventually tumble back down to the levels of six or seven years ago, I don’t believe it. Condos in the Fenway will never be $100,000 again. Sorry. So with those remarks as a preface, I ran across a few listings that might be considered a “bargain” in the meaning of the word in today’s parlance. (That is, the sellers are not asking an obscene price that makes you laugh in disbelief or shake your head in wonder.)
147 Wallis Road, Brookline, 2094 square feet, $769K. I admit that I had been looking at a few units in the South End before I ran across this space. So suddenly, for the price of a two bedroom in South End, I found a four bedroom home with two and a half baths, a deck and a patio. Since I’ve seen much less than this in Brookline, for far more, the price seems almost reasonable. According to Zillow, this home is actually worth $745,500.
120 Nonantum, Brighton, 1291 square feet, $319K. The asking price on this home — which includes a two-car garage and 525 square feet of basement space — seems extremely (perhaps suspiciously) reasonable. According to Zillow, this property was a two-family that was sold last September for $588K and then quickly condoized into two units. Number 118 (part of the same building, apparently) is now also for sale for $329K. If the seller gets these prices, he or she will be making a good profit — about $60K minus the cost of improvements. But the asking prices on condos of this square footage with these amenities are generally much higher. These are only $238 and $247 a square foot. So I would label it a “deal.”
14 Commonwealth Court, Apt. 2, 604 square feet, $185K. Brighton. These are not fancy digs, but this modern condo is updated, clean and convenient. I’ve seen comparable places priced well over $200K and places in much worse shape priced in the same range. The Zillow estimate of this property is $210,500.
22 City View Road, Brookline, $479K, 1,449 square feet. This may be the only single family home in Brookline at this price, plus the house was renovated in 1999. The Zillow estimate for this property: $585,500!
Image: freedigitalphotos.net
March 29, 2008
I’m drowning in schoolwork lately, and not nearly as obsessive about real estate as I should be; I’ll give you some more to chew on this week, I promise.
As the weather warms up, we’ll certainly see more listings; in fact, no matter how much the market recovers this Spring, it will remain a buyer’s paradise out there.
Lots of the “New Listings” you’ll see soon are places that were taken off the market for a week or two so that they could re-emerge as new listings; newly listed properties get more attention than those that sit around, and sometimes sellers pull a minor fast one to get us to pay attention.
63 Palmer Street #63-4 in Salem is eye candy at $209,900 and $193/sq.ft. But listen to this:
“Rent for up to one year for $1,300. per month & seller will apply half of rent you’ve paid to your down payment on this unit.”
Imagine being able to lock into an agreement that lets you buy a condo a year from now with a guaranteed $7,800 bonus on your down? I don’t expect this to last.
19 Cloverdale Avenue in Salem looks Brady-Bunch blah in the picture, but the photographer gives us a glimpse of the view beyond. It takes architectural cues from Frank Loyd Wright’s school of aesthetics in that it has no curb appeal (stupid Frank Lloyd Wright and his stupid minions — don’t get me started. He’s the inspiration for the cul-de-sac, the guy who preached the death of the urban center, and who made it okay for buildings to be ugly from the outside. And Falling Water is falling
apart.), but it’s basic boxy nothingness could be a blank slate for some wicked good renovation.
6 Story Avenue in Beverly is a beautiful 1920s 3-bedroom for $307k. It has a nice big lot and it’s right near the train. The honey pine floors are completely sexy.
March 29, 2008
I don’t really know how this happened, but in all my years in this city, I’ve never been to Mike’s City Diner. And I love diners! I spent my college years in the South, where the diner isn’t just another restaurant; it’s a cultural institution. The importance of the town diner grows in relation to the size of the town; the smaller the town, the more significant role the diner’s role in its customer’s social lives. Folks don’t just get a cup of coffee and some eggs; in some small towns, the diner is the focus of the entire social scene.
I hope Mike’s isn’t like that. The South and the South End run on different speeds, and I much prefer the speed and anonymity of the cig city.
I heard nothing but great things about Mike’s. Apparently, the only problem is the line–I hear it sometimes reaches the sidewalk–but it moves quickly. The online menu looks great, but didn’t see one of my southern favorites: biscuits and sausage gravy. I hope it’s just a webmaster oversight, but even if it isn’t, I’m sure I’ll find some other country food that’s just as good.
After brunch, I’ll hit several open houses on Worcester Square:
15 Worcester Square, #4
Beds: 2/Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 840
$/SQ.FT.: 642
$539,000
Sunday, 12:00 – 1:30
18 Worcester Square, #3
Beds: 1/Baths:1
SQ.FT.: 788
$/SQ.FT.: 646
$509,000
Sunday, 1:30-3:00
34 Worcester Square. #4
Beds: 2/Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 895
$/SQ.FT.: 546
$489,000
Sunday 1:30-3:00
1 Worcester Square, #1
Beds: 3/Baths: 2
SQ.FT.: 1464
$/SQ.FT.: 573
$839,000
Sunday, 2:00-4:00
More of Alyk on the South End
March 28, 2008
New season, new sport, new furniture giveaway - definitely time for some new listings. And on this dreary, half-rainy morning, wouldn’t you rather be a nice, quick T ride away from work than a backed-up, miserable car ride? One look at today’s traffic report (right) from Fox 25 should answer the question for you.
360 Newbury St #604 puts you literally right upstairs from the T. Wanna go downtown? No problem. Wanna ride all the way out to Newton? Yes, you can do that, too. And all without the stop-go bumper jockeying that’s part and parcel with an automotive commute. Worried about the lack of photos? I’ve got you covered.
If a five-minute walk won’t force you into your car, take $200,000 off that price, buy an umbrella, put the rest in the bank, and move into 250 Commonwealth Avenue #11. A much more cost-effective implementation of your 800-some odd square feet, 250 Comm comes with a view and an interior much more typically Back Bay.
But hey - I understand you’re not all single. Some of you aren’t even just couples. And that’s great! Higher-occupancy residencies reduce carbon footprints, decrease traffic congestion, and increase economic viability. 36 Hancock St. #5B delivers on-the-T (Bowdoin, Park St, Gov’t Center) location, Beacon Hill elegance, and a price tag well below normal for the region.
And if you’re stuck in traffic and reading this from your iPhone/Crackberry, my heart goes out to you. Maybe you’ll get to work in time for someone to buy you a sympathy lunch.
March 28, 2008
How far would you go for a really good loaf of bread?
I asked myself that question last weekend, as I stood outside Clear Flour Bread in Brookline in a line that trailed down the block. Clear Flour has always drawn crowds in Brookline. And this year, as in many other years, it has received an award for its stand-out French baguettes, Italian rustic breads, German ryes, and oh yeah, those luscious walnut morning rolls. In fact, Boston Now just named Clear Flour the Best Boston Bakery in 2008. Boston Magazine named this bakery the Best of Boston in 2007.
During our 45-minute wait, we had plenty of time to notice that a house across the street was for sale. My husband pointed out that if we bought that house, we could look out the window and dash for bread whenever we noticed the bread line getting a little shorter. Hmmm…. good idea!
So here are a few houses where you could almost do that.
170 Thorndike Street, Apt. 3, $499K, 1250 square feet. This is the home directly across the street! Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and best of all, loads of freshly-baked croissants.
8 Hamilton Road, Apt. 2, $588K, 1337 square feet. This one’s just a block away from ground zero. Just think brioche and two deeded parking spaces.
138 Fuller Street, Apt. 1, $749K, 1640 square feet. Up for a three-block walk to our objective? This three-bed, two- bath has no deeded parking and a rather high condo fee, but just keep thinking of that rosemary foccacia.
94 Naples Road, Apt. 4, $397,500, 900 square feet. It’s got two bedrooms, and is about four blocks from our objective. Did I hear someone say monkey bread?
Image: freedigitalphotos.net
March 27, 2008
According to NOAA, we’re in for some crappy weather for a few days. Good thing, too. I’m burning my new wood stove out of a sense of obligation, and sweltering in my living room.
Looks like Sunday is going to be nice; you really can’t lose. Salem is great on a sunny Sunday. Have brunch, coffee flavored beer at Gulu Gulu, stroll the wharf or the Willows, and see some houses.
You can find more open houses at Boston.com, and by looking for the little green house icon in Redfin ads. Redfin tells us we’ll be able to search for open houses on our site soon.
Sunday, 1-3 at 75 Lawrence Street is worth a look — there are some really pretty pictures here, and it’s a BIG lot and a good-sized house for $299k. Boston.com also lists an open house at 75 1/2 Lawrence, but I can’t figure out what that’s about — keep your eyes open and you might kill 2 birds with one…uh…trip.
Sunday 11-12:30, there’s a multi-family for $299k! Take a look at 120 Boston Street in Salem.
6 Meadow Street in Salem is open from 1-3. Someone’s really been loving on this house; it’s definitely worth a stop. This is a pretty house with TONS of outdoor and indoor space
Look at 7 Highland Street from 12-1; nice little house with a lot of outdoor space!
