Archive for the ‘Back Bay, Beacon Hill’ Category
September 9, 2008
So I think I touched a nerve last time I mentioned that things in Massachusetts weren’t going as poorly as some people might want them to be. I tried to explain that I shared many of their options: I’ve continued to rent, and I think irresponsible lenders and homebuyers—not taxpayers—should be held accountable for the subprime mess. But that fact remains that in this part of the country, despite national market chaos, people are still buying houses.
I know the prices might seem ridiculous, but people are still paying them. Even before the collapse of Bear Sterns, people were prophesying some deflation, but it really hasn’t come together. Demand still appears to be supporting prices, and while fly-by-night lending looks to hurt math-skilled renters (like myself!) with a taxpayer bailout, houses are still being sold. And it’s not just a local phenomenon.
If prices were more than people were willing to pay—and believe me, no one’s getting anything without massive vetting and at least a 10% downpayment anymore—they’d be dropping. And they’re not, at least not in the places I watch. Consider these price reductions form Beacon Hill; other than the palatial but pretty obviously overvalued townhouse, there are only nominal cuts.
100 Pinckney St
Beacon Hill, MA 02114
5 beds, 3.5 baths.
4,516 sq. ft.
New Price: $3,795,000
Old Price: $3,995,000
68 Phillips St #9
Beacon Hill, MA 02114
1 bed, 1 bath
535 sq. ft.
New Price: $469,000
Old Price: $475,000
21 Beacon St #10B
Beacon Hill, MA 02108
1 bed, 1 bath
438 sq. ft.
New Price: $289,000
Old Price: $295,000
September 3, 2008
There’s more to the Bay State than just Boston. I know this because I grew up as far from the State House as you can possibly be and still live in Massachusetts.
But to hear this armada of bubble bloggers, you’d think that every home seized in the Commonwealth was two blocks from Copley Square with a low condo fee and free off-street parking.
“Home seizures surge“. “Crashachusetts“. to borrow an expression from some avowed Yankees fans, “yadda yadda yadda”. Five seven-figure homes just popped up in the South End—does that sound like a crashing market to you?
If you want to see economic downturn and all that hoo-ha, head out to Chelsea. It’s on the bike route to Logan Airport. You’ll find foreclosures, underperforming schools, and one measly commuter rail stop. Nothing against the good people of Chelsea, but with the exception of a few brave hippies, it’s safe to say they’d rather be somewhere else.
That’s the thing about bubbles—they only pop when demand dies down. Back in 2005, Chelsea was Boston Magazine’s “Best Place to Live for Hipsters”; they’ve since gone back to Allston. Back Bay remains, as ever, the best place to live if you’re rich, or just want everyone to think you are.
233 Commonwealth Ave #6
Back Bay, MA 02116
1 Bed, 1 Bath
806 sq. ft.
$525,000
330 Beacon St #75
Back Bay, MA 02116
1 Bed, 1 Bath
800 sq. ft.
$799,600
377 Marlborough St #1
Back Bay, MA 02115
1 Bed, 1 Baths
605 sq. ft.
$449,000
New in Brighton: The Students Are Back
Boston Sweet Digs Home
September 2, 2008
Ok, you can remove your helmet and step out of your foxhole now—another September 1st has come and gone, and if you’re reading this, you’ve made it through. And no one even managed to mau-mau a UHaul into the Longfellow Bridge this time around…not to say they didn’t try, of course.
I frequently find myself wondering what the first week in September would be like in a normal city, one without a college-to-Interstate ratio of 20:1. Sure, traffic would be less awful, and west of Packard’s Corner, things might smell a whole lot less like vomit, but you’d also need more than a $2 T pass to participate in the world’s largest free yard sale.
So maybe try to slip out of work today, and peruse what street candy’s been left behind. I snagged an old-but-functional HP LaserJet 4L for sharp monochrome printing. Apparently, kids these days have never heard of a parallel-to-USB adaptor.
80 Mt. Vernon St. #8
Beacon Hill, MA 02108
2 Bed, 1 Bath
704 sq. ft.
$799,000
8 Lindall Pl #1
Beacon Hill, MA 02114
1 Bed, 1 Bath
704 sq. ft.
$349,900
36 W Cedar St
Beacon Hill, MA 02108
3 Beds, 3.5 Baths
3,317 sq. ft.
$3,249,000
August 20, 2008
My Freshman year of college, a friend of mine on the ski team coined the phrase “The Fromage Factor” to describe the dent a semester of foreign study would put in an athlete’s level of fitness.
And back then, a few months surrounded by rich, creamy foods, multiple-course meals, and food priced in “dollars” that only cost 89 cents could do some damage.
But the other day, another friend of mine returned from travel abroad some fifteen pounds lighter. To the glee of exporters and the dismay of xenophobic homesellers, the dollar has been very very, weak. And this has not gone unnoticed on either side of the Atlantic.
But check out the trend over the past few weeks. Despite some serious economic speed bumps in our future, the dollar seems to be accruing value against the Euro. What to do? Buy it now and then unload it in Euros, before the US government has to print its way out of the credit crunch. It’s the next wave in moving real estate: the Forex Flip!
175 Comm Ave #D
Back Bay, MA 02116
2 beds, 2 baths
1,940 sq. ft.
$2,190,000
Euro Price 6/6/08: 1,388,898
Euro Price 8/15/08: 1,491,828
64 Commonwealth Ave #9
Back Bay, MA 02116
0 beds, 1 bath.
595 sq. ft.
$419,000
Euro Price 6/6/08: 265,730
Euro Price 8/15/08: 285,422
69 Pinckney St #2
Beacon Hill, MA 02114
2 beds, 2 bath
1,001 sq. ft.
$839,000
Euro Price 6/6/08: 532,094
Euro Price 8/15/08: 571,527
Salem Under $300k- With a View
Boston Sweet Digs Home
August 19, 2008
Yes, it’s tough to imagine; just over 13 months ago the stock market hit record highs, and our current state of affairs was nothing but a twinkle in some very happy short-sellers’ eyes. But only a month after that, things were not looking so rosy, and a year later, well, you know the deal. And it’s all the inflated housing market’s fault, they say.
But in retrospect, it really hasn’t been that bad. In fact, it hasn’t been bad at all. I suppose a plateau could be inferred somewhere in that chart, and maybe the record inflation over the past few months outpaced it, but as far as I can tell, that’s the closest Beacon Hill came to any sort of decline.
Sure, we could all be sitting on a massive alt-a bomb, or be bracing for some EPIC FAIL from two of the largest financial entities in the world, but I think there are as many voices saying we already bottomed out as there are suggesting we’re about to go over the falls.
And on the off-chance that the doomsayers are right, Boston seems like a pretty safe barrel to ride in.
29-31 Brimmer St #2
Beacon Hill, MA 02108
2 beds, 2 baths
$1,453 sq. ft.
$1,095,000
80 Mount Vernon St #8
Beacon Hill, MA 02108
2 beds, 1 bath
704 sq. ft.
$849,000
48 Beacon St #1R
Beacon Hill, MA 02108
2 beds, 1.5 bath
1,448 sq. ft.
$778,000
An Open House Circuit for the Weekend
Boston Sweet Digs Home
August 15, 2008
So rather than just toss out open houses on a theme this week, I’ve decided to prepare a little circuit for you. I mean, why spend what’s likely to be the first sunny day in a week stuck at a single house when you could spend it strolling the tree-lined boulevards of Back Bay?
Not to mention all the fun places in between. I mean, you could head into the neighborhood for brunch, hit the first open house at noon, cut out a little early for quick bit of food to some window shopping, then stroll across the neighborhood to the next one 1:30.
Even if you don’t have it in you for a third listing at 3pm, you’ll be perfectly poised for any number of other afternoon activities, from a caffeinated pick-me-up to a cocktail hour indulgence. And if the home-hunting is motivation enough, you’ll be all the more rewarded by the areas many fine dining establishments.
254 Comm Ave #2
Back Bay, MA 02116
2 beds, 1 bath
1,081 sq. ft.
$875,000
Open House: Sunday, August 17, 2008 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
34 Comm Ave #3
Back Bay, MA 02116
1 (2?) beds, 1 bath
1,086 sq. ft.
$749,000
Sunday, August 17, 2008 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM
338 Comm Ave #4
Back Bay, MA 02115
2 beds, 2 baths
1,064 sq. ft.
$859,000
Sunday, August 17, 2008 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Who is Clark Rockefeller and the Allure of Back Bay
Boston Sweet Digs Home
August 13, 2008
If the trail pieced together by law enforcement, eyewitnesses, and family members is correct, the man known to the black ties at the Alogonquin Club—where he really did serve as board director—as Clark Rockefeller is, and has always been, some unpronounceably named German guy.
So what possess a man to cross continents, possibly commit murder, and con everyone from internationally renowed newspapers to a fathers’ rights activist to an equity partner at McKinsey to an apparently homophobic SUV driver into thinking he’s the stuffed-shirt prole of the most storied American Robber-Baron?
I’m willing to bet it’s the same intangible cache that props up numbers like these through the most epic housing crisis in the history of the nation. Back Bay has plenty to offer in terms of location, services, safety, and style, but the price can’t *quite* be justified in quantifiable terms alone.
Maybe it’s the massive estates. Maybe it’s the famous neighbors. Maybe it’s the sweet wine tours. Whatever it may be, there’s just something about Back Bay.
August 8, 2008
No, I’m not going to talk about the Fannie Mae thing. Sure, it’s a couple billion in the red this quarter, but whatever. It’s huge. It can take hits like that. It’s improving its lending rules. No more Alt-A’s. Everything will be fine, because if it isn’t, we’ll have bigger things to worry about.
But assuming the economy doesn’t collapse, everyone who is sick of seeing that estate in Cohasset come up as Boston’s most expensive property can now rejoice. It seems Ofer Nemirovsky, a local purvey of hedge fundament at private equity firm HarbourVest, has amalgamated several properties on the corner of Comm and Exeter to create this $23 million dollar home.
Of course, it’s not for sale, but you could buy a property nearby, and then stop by, asking to buy a cup of sugar, as neighbors are wont to do. It’s not like you’ll crowd the place; it’s 24,000 square feet, with amenities like 15 bathrooms, six parking spaces, and an indoor Thunderdome basketball court.
Open Houses nearby (empty cup for sugar not included):
180 Commonwealth Ave #A
Back Bay, MA 02116
1 Bed, 1 Bath
812 sq. ft.
$629,000
Sunday, August 10, 2008 12:00 PM – 2:30 PM
233 Commonwealth Ave #6
Back Bay, MA 02116
1 Bed, 1 Bath
806 sq. ft.
$525,900
Sunday, August 10, 2008 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
251-253 Marlborough St #7
Back Bay, MA 02116
3 Beds, 2.5 Baths
2,621 sq. ft.
$2,199,000
Sunday, August 10, 2008 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Why Harvard Needs to Bail Out the MBTA
Boston Sweet Digs Home
August 5, 2008
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the market…
It’s been lurking just below the radar for months, the idea that the credit crunch will begin to claim some decidedly prime-rate borrowers. Thus far, most collapsed mortgages have been those that should have never been offered: NINAs, NINJAs, and other no-doc loans offered to people with shabby credit histories.
But similar no-doc loans, called Alt-A loans, were also offered to people with good credit. They brought in lower interest rates, and so never inspired same sort of feeding frenzies as the subprimes (remember, this was back when housing prices were “guaranteed” to double each decade, thus rendering money loss impossible), but were issued none the less.
So after 3-5 years of ticking, these so-called Alt-A time bombs are set to explode in the next couple months, because Alt-A borrowers’ good credit won them longer grace periods before their their interest rates adjusted.
Think a Back Bay foreclosure could never happen? I know of at least one person making not much more than your humble blogger, who used her good credit to take out a $300,000, all-interest loan for a home a little over two years ago. That’ll get you in the door of a small studio in Back Bay or Beacon Hill, and believe me, she is scrambling to sell.
I know a lot of homeowners, realtors, and prospective buyers who consider the nicer parts of downtown pretty much immune to the credit crisis. But only time will tell whether Back Bay, Beacon Hill and the South End will find a few Hendry Streets of their own.
What’s New In Brighton, Brookline
Boston Sweet Digs Home
July 31, 2008
Hello, Boston!
I’m coming to you live from my favorite roof deck in Beacon Hill, enjoying the hospitality of Goutam Jois, a local attorney and member of the mayor’s 1 in 3 Advisory Council.
As a fashionable man-about-town, he’s decided to give me some of his own thoughts on a few local properties that have been on the market for over 80 days. Perhaps his insights will be a bit sharper than mine.
80 Mt. Vernon St. #8
Beacon Hill, MA 02108
2 Bed, 1 Bath
704 sq. ft.
$849,000
Goutam: “Plus: it’s near La La Rokh. IDK, though. Nice roofdeck, but I don’t know what the view would be. Pro, good space, but second bedroom is an office; for the kid’s crib, at best.”
8 Lindall Pl #1
Beacon Hill, MA 02114
1 Bed, 1 Bath
704 sq. ft.
$349,900
Goutam: “Pro: good price for square foot, pro: good size for a one bed. Con: it’s in the 02114 Beacon Hill, not the 02108 Beacon Hill. That and it’s right under the T tracks.”
36 W Cedar St
Beacon Hill, MA 02108
3 Beds, 3.5 Baths
3,317 sq. ft.
$3,249,000
Goutam: “Pro: if you want flowers for your window box, it’s near the florist without going to Charles or Cambridge Street. Con: If you like your third child [chair in the corner would be for punishment -ed.], or don’t like crappy dining rooms, you might want a different place”
