Archive for July, 2008
July 22, 2008
I have an acquaintance who is very into a place called Upper Beacon Hill. Upon arriving in Boston a few years back, I just sort of assumed that this meant the top of the hill, but as I learned a short time later, it’s something else entirely.
A more geographically accurate name would be the East Slope, since the North and South slopes already use that style of appellation. But no—Upper Beacon Hill is what it’s called, though I think a pretty fair argument can be made that it might very well be a neighborhood unto itself.
Up until 1900 or so, Upper Beacon Hill was very much a part of the rest of the the Hill. But as successive waves of Irish and Italian immigrants crowded into Boston, the Beacon Hill Brahmins, who once lived right up to the edges of Scollay Square, crept back over the hillside, eventually landing in palatial homes on the South Slope and Louisburg Square.
Cambridge and Somerset Streets, on the other hand, became ever more a part of the vibrant, loud and just a little bit shady Scollay Square area, and we all know what happened to that. While some stately high rises from before the turn of the century remain, much of the neighborhood was raised and rebuilt, right along with Government Center and the West End.
The photo in the upper right is of Pemberton Square in 1885, care of the Boston Atheneum’s collection; here’s a view of Pemberton Square today. I wouldn’t say Upper Beacon Hill is any better or worse than the rest of the neighborhood, but you’d be hard pressed to argue that it’s not different.
Some properties, in and nearby:
21 Beacon St #8D
Upper Beacon Hill, MA 02108
0 Bed, 1 Bath
290 sq. ft.
$220,000
20 Beacon St #3
Upper Beacon Hill, MA 02108
3 Bed, 3 Bath
2,310 sq. ft.
$1,895,000
21 Bowdoin St #2C
Beacon Hill, MA 02114
1 Bed, 1 Bath
619 sq. ft.
$379,000
Poetry Friday for Wine and Open Houses
Boston Sweet Digs Home
July 21, 2008
Everyone (at least everyone in Brookline!) knows that Brookline’s housing prices remained robust throughout the housing downturn. A recent Money Magazine survey placing Brookline in the top 100 places to live in the country certainly didn’t hurt matters any.
But what about Brighton, Brookline’s hardscrabble, hard-living, (some might say hard-drinking) neighbor to the north?
It turns out the housing picture is a whole lot spottier on the other side of the border. Without a stellar school district to act as a price support, average sales prices in the first quarter are down. In Brookline, price appreciation seems as certain as a long wait for the Green Line, even if you bought as recently as 2006, but in Brighton, it’s more dependent on timing and luck, with many more variables coming into play.
Look at Strathmore Road, a leafy lane that begins at Chestnut Hill Avenue and traverses Brighton all the way to Brookline’s Beacon Street. It’s near three branches of the Green Line and just a couple of blocks from the shops and restaurants of Cleveland Circle. Strathmore Road boasts solid, well-tended condominiums mixed in with some well-maintained apartment buildings and a few brownstones that have seen better days. Eliminating location as one variable in determining sales price, here are the mixed results of three sales in the last three months on that street:
93 Strathmore Road, #3
Brighton, 02135
Beds:2/Baths:1
SQ.FT: 904
Sold in June for $318,500. Last owner bought in 2004 for $299K. Price appreciation of 1.6% a year. Reasonable enough.
110 Strathmore Road, Apt. 202
Brighton, 02135
Beds:2/Baths:2
SQ.FT:887
Sold in June for $362,500. Last owner bought in 2006 for $378,000. -2% appreciation per year. Ouch.
84 Strathmore Road, Apt. 2
Brighton, 02135
Beds: 1/Baths: 1
SQ.FT:711
Sold in May for $257K. Last owner bought in 2004 for $214K for an appreciation of 5.1 percent a year. Hey, it’s looking like a better investment than the stock market.
Hitting the Links
Boston Sweet Digs Home
July 20, 2008
Simon Property Group shows what they want in (and on) Copley Place. [John A Keith]- Allston-Brighton looking to get a little greener. [Allston Brighton Community Blog]
- ABC casting call for “Opportunity Knocks.” [The Beantown Bloggery]
- The City seems to be doing a little housekeeping in the Theatre District. Are they preparing for the W? [Universal Hub]
- 3D wants the MBTA to look at restoring an existing tunnel rather that building a new tunnel that nobody really wants. [Third Decade]
- Wow! Apparently the head of the MBTA’s Diversity Office doesn’t think much of Hispanic culture. How many shades of irony can fit into one story. [Boston Globe]
- A Haitian restaurant opened in Fields Corner. [Lower Dot]
- Massachusetts might decriminalize marijuana. [MetaBoston]
- And the average price per square foot in the North End is… [Boston Condos]
Dine and Dash: Staying Close to Home
Boston Sweet Digs Home
July 18, 2008
I’ve read more than one real estate agent’s online rant against open houses. I like them, personally, but then I don’t have to sit there through the nicest part of a Sunday and get people to sign a guest register so I don’t look like a slacker to the clients whose house…just isn’t selling.
From what I gather, open houses don’t really sell houses. It’s trawling. Open houses are a way for players and potential players in a sale to meet — cards and phone numbers are exchanged, agents and brokers talk to each other about the most precious commodity in this market (qualified buyers). And it’s something to do when you can’t think of anything else, and you have a million houses to unload.
For buyers, on the other hand, open houses are a chance to see what’s out there without dealing too much with salespeople. In other markets, maybe, agents can afford to sneer at tire kickers. In this one, we’ll be happy to see folks who are looking at having a down saved (or having repaired enough credit) by 2012 or so.
So go look. You might learn a few things, get some decorating ideas, maybe some free pens or refrigerator magnets.
This one’s a GREAT location….
7 Foster Drive
Beverly, MA 01915
Beds: 3/Baths:1.5
SQ.FT.: 1372
$ 409,714
Open House: Sunday, July 20, 11:00am-1:00pm
House floozy that I am, I have a thing for this one:
6 Story Avenue
Beverly, MA 01915
Beds: 3/Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 1217
$ 279,900
Open House: Saturday, July 19, 3:00pm-4:30pm
I think this one is overpriced — it’s a good entry price, but no one is going to pay over $300 per square foot for just under 500 square feet. But that doesn’t mean the seller won’t be reasonable. Asking is only asking — a condo is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.
81 Cabot Street #3R
Beverly, MA 01915
Beds: 1/Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 449
$ 139,900
Open House: Sunday, July 20, 1:00pm-3:00pm
July 18, 2008
The Back Bay summer air is fetid
They built on swamps—and now regret it.
But still, the weekend days are yearned for;
Clever residents outfox the fervor.
As heatwaves grow the more intense
They think not of things the heat prevents,
For they know what summer best allows is
To get soused, and look at open houses.
3 Gloucester St #5
Back Bay, MA 02115
0 Bed, 1 Bath
347 sq. ft.
$276,000
Open House, Sunday, July 20, 1:30pm-3:00pm
46 Comm Ave #10
Back Bay, MA 02116
1 Bed, 1 Bath
788 sq. ft.
$615,000
Open House, Sunday, July 20, 12:00pm-2:00pm
103 Beacon St #1
Back Bay, MA
1 Bed, 1 Bath
845 sq. ft.
$590,000
Open House, Sunday, July 20, 12:30pm-2:30pm
A Summer Scene from Beacon Hill
Boston Sweet Digs Home
July 18, 2008
Because the weather won’t cooperate this weekend, “Dine and Dash” looks more like “Dash.” Meteorologists predict the temperature will either be in the mid- 90’s or it will drop to the low 80’s with thunderstorms. Either way, I’m not dashing far.
I picked these open houses only because they are close to home:
56 Clarendon Street, #4
South End, 02116
Beds: 3/Baths: 2.5
SQ.FT.: 2264
$1,649,000
Open House: Sunday July 20, 1:45pm – 3:15pm
115 Chandler Street, #1
South End, 02116
Beds: /2Baths: 1.5
SQ.FT.: 1265
$774,000
Open House: Sunday, July 20, 2:15pm -6:30pm
85 Appleton Street, #2
South End, 02116
Beds: 1/Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 530
$390,000
Open House: Sunday, July 20, 2:00 – 3:00
I suppose could have lunch delivered, but running through the rain or wandering through the heat full-bellied sounds miserable.
Rose Kennedy Greenway: Quit Complaining About It
Boston Sweet Digs Home
July 18, 2008
Do you like going to open houses? Give this one a try:
142 Middlesex Road
Newton, 02467
Beds: 3/Baths: 2
SQ.FT.: 1405
$555,000
Open House: Sunday, July 20, noon – 2pm
Because this condo is on the town line, it’s listed in Brookline, too.
July 18, 2008
If you’ve been looking for a while, you may have reached a point in your housing search where attending Sunday open houses feels a lot like work. This feeling is particularly strong in the summer months, when you start envisioning all the other lovely things you could be doing… camping out with friends…rollerblading down the Esplanade… sleeping in.
So how to make the open house rounds more fun and less work? Here are a few ideas:
- Bike to open houses. Choose a few within a mile or two of each other and make the open house route your morning exercise route as well. Can also be a good excuse for overeating later in the day.
- Combine open houses with lunch or brunch — we learned this one from Alyk, a master at munching and viewing. Works even better when your brunch spot is a totally new splurge at the edge of your price range.
- Bring a friend along. Not only good company, a friend can provide a useful perspective — and if you’re lucky some sardonic wit — on what you’ve seen, maybe even noticing things you may have overlooked.
- Approach your outing like a tourist. Read up on neighborhood history and points of interest in advance. While your making the rounds, visit the neighborhood “sites” as well, even if the site is just the neighborhood’s most frequented ice cream shop.
- Attend the “freshest” open houses if you’re looking for excitement. These can be more interesting as spectator sport, while the old listings with the bored agent can be a downer.
- End your open house tour with a lunchtime aperitivo. If nothing else, you’ll have a cool drink to look forward to at the end of your rounds!
And for your consideration, three new listings in Brighton and Brookline that will be holding open houses this weekend:
11 Upcrest Road
Brighton
BEDS:3/BATHS:1.5
SQ. FT: 1431
$415K
O.H. Sunday, July 20, 2008 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
652 Washington Street, #1
Brookline
BEDS:2/BATHS:1
SQ.FT:1101
$465K
O.H. Sunday, July 20, 2008 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
142 Middlesex Road, #1
Brookline
BEDS:3/BATHS:2
SQ.FT: 1405
$555K
O.H.Sunday, July 20, 2008 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
July 17, 2008
While plenty of people around the city of Boston dread summer and its upsurge in violence, open windows and hot weather bring conflict of a different sort to Beacon Hill.
Let me recount an episode I witnessed last summer:
I was biking home, and as soon as I turned (illegally) from West Cedar onto Phillips, I heard a car horn. A few blocks up the hill, a moving van boxed in an SUV while a well dressed man leaned on the horn through the open driver’s side window.
Being the car-hating sort, I found it entertaining, but a young couple a few doors down was less entertained:
Young Woman: Hey, could you please stop honking your horn?
Irate Driver: No! Not until these guys move the stupid truck.
Young Man: If you don’t stop honking, we’re calling the police.
Irate Driver: Good, call the police! Then they can get these jerks to move their truck
Young Man: You’re ruining the quality of life for everyone else!
Irate Driver: No, [indicating movers] they’re ruining it!
Young Woman: No, they’re providing a valuable service and contributing to the economy, at the cost of five minutes of your time. You’re just being a jerk.
C’mon, where else are you gonna get banter like that outside your window? The 6th story of a condo tower on the Greenway? A sprawling ranch out in Sudbury? Heck, even in Back Bay, the streets are too wide for good old-fashioned hollering out the window.
Maybe, with the right crowd of people, you could create a similar scene in the North End, but there’d probably be a lot more shouting and less reasoning. And let’s face it, if you wanted that, you could just go on the internet.
Farmer’s Market Season
Boston Sweet Digs Home
July 17, 2008
One of our concerns, moving away from Cambridge and JP, was food. Would we be able to get Indian food? Brazilian BBQ? And how would we get through the summer without big CSA boxes full of veggies?
Beverly and Salem don’t disappoint — there’s no Moody’s falafel, but Maria’s has awesome gyros on homemade pita, and we love Anmal, Beverly’s Indian joint. And while we aren’t really in CSA range, we have farmstands, farmer’s markets, and local food.
Farmer’s markets are a great reason to get up before noon on summer weekends, and the Marblehead Farmer’s Market is exquisite: the baked goods are world class, and the cheeses — from small private creameries in Vermont and central Mass. — are rare treats. Add cheap veggies, super cheap fresh herbs and cut flowers, fair trade coffee, and handmade, natural casing lamb-and-feta sausages, and you can have a heck of a breakfast while you shop for dinner.
Bring a lot of cash and a cooler — you’ll want to stock up on artisan goat cheeses and local, organic meats.The Beverly and Gloucester markets are mid-week and much smaller, although the produce is great.
For information on North Shore farmer’s markets and farm stands, check out Blue Heron Local Cuisine.
