Back Bay

Boston Back Bay Condominium Housing Report Feb 2012

March 9, 2012 By Boston Area Quick Move-In Homes Leave a Comment

Back Bay Condo for sale

The Boston Back Bay Condominium Housing Report Feb 2012 includes 210 listings in the Active, Under Agreement, Sold, Expired and Canceled categories. Lots of new listings came on the market to get the Spring season started. The Days on Market are coming down again and the mix is about right with the Active’s slightly longer on the market than the solds. The good news is that the Under Agreement listings are a lower DOM and them means next month the stats for the others should come down as well. Get your Condo priced right, get it staged to sell and get an agent who knows how to promote your property here on line. That is where the buyers are.

Condominium Active Listings: 159 Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 1,621.70 Avg. List$: $1,781,825 Avg. List$/SqFt: $967 Avg. DOM: 147.53

Condominium Under Agreement Listings: 27 Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 1,234.30 Avg. List$: $1,051,022 Avg. List$/SqFt: $807 Avg. DOM: 116.33

Condominium Sold Listings: 14 Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 1,763.14 Avg. List$: $2,267,921 Avg. List$/SqFt: $1,063 Avg. DOM: 140.29 Avg. Sale$: $2,165,714 Avg. Sale$/SqFt: $1,012

Back Bay Condo for sale

We are in the 95%+ range for list price to sale price. This is not too bad. Listing prices are good and since it is still a buyers market with lots of inventory on the market ready for sale this forces the motivated seller to be realistic and take a slightly reduced value. Nothing wrong here. But looking at the expired listings I wonder why the DOM is 88.5. What agent is taking less than a 3 month listing agreement? Why would sellers be so dense to not give a professional a reasonable amount of time to sell a home. I make a 90 day guarantee and even that would be 2 days short of what is happening with the expired’s in Feb. Now that Spring is upon us, the Red Sox are in FL it is time to get this season started.

Condominium Expired Listings: 4 Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 1,251.50 Avg. List$: $903,500 Avg. List$/SqFt: $724 Avg. DOM: 88.50

Condominium Canceled Listings: 6 Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 1,370.17 Avg. List$: $1,349,983 Avg. List$/SqFt: $899 Avg. DOM: 198.00

West Roxbury Single Family Home Move In Ready.

February 28, 2012 By Boston Area Quick Move-In Homes Leave a Comment

44 LaSell St, West Roxbury, MA Single Family Home for sale

West Roxbury is a part of Boston and is served by the Boston Public Schools. It also has a variety of other options for education including, parochial, charter and private. Close to the city through public transportation it is also close to downtown through a highway system. West Roxbury has little neighborhoods and 44 LaSell Street is in a neighborhood of nice homes close to the VFW Parkway and the route to Metro West so close at hand.

People who move to West Roxbury tend to stay and raise families in West Roxbury. 44 LaSell Street is close to public transportation by bus and by train. You are right across the street from privately owned open space. As with all the corners of Boston, West Roxbury has a wonderful collection of small businesses catering to the neighborhood families. A nice collection of restaurants give you an alternative to driving back into the city, or a reason to come home early.

44 LaSell Street, West Roxbury, MA, in-law apartment

This home comes with some disclosures. The ceiling in the basement was damaged last winter when the pipes froze. The pipes were repaired, the ceiling was not. Carpet was removed after the leak exposing old tile. In the garage there is water seeping through the walls below grade.

The set of stairs up to the second floor where the two bedrooms are is very steep. Known to some in the real estate business as “pirate’s steps” steep and high, like the steps inside a ship.

The house has great bones and sits inside a great neighborhood. At this point in the market you could use a 203K loan to do what minor repairs, or do a bit more. Several builders and a fireman or two have been through to size the property up. The living room, dining room area is great with wonderful light. The kitchen was updated a couple of years ago. The master bedroom has a wonderful closet that was built in. That is an asset. In the former bedroom, now office off the very large deck in the back yard is where the space for the over-sized closet is in the master bedroom. This closet was taken away.


Listing Price: 345000
Address: 44 LaSell St
City: West Roxbury
State: MA
ZIP: 02132
MLS # (if any): 71309893
Square Feet: 1199
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 2F
Basement (full, 1/2, finished, unfinished): Finished

Filed Under: Boston, Featured, Featured Post, MA, reduced price, single family homes, single family homes for sale, Video, West Roxbury, west roxbury homes for sale Tagged With: Anguilla, Back Bay, Boston, condominium, Featured properties, featured vacation properties, MA, Milton, Single family home, Wayland, Wellesley, Weston

Boston, Back Bay, Condominium housing report Nov 2011

December 12, 2011 By Boston Area Quick Move-In Homes Leave a Comment

Boston, Back Bay, Condominium housing report Nov 2011. With 226 Condos in the market this month we see that that Days on Market is going up, the average price going up, the average sale price coming down and this is all normal for this time of year. Seasonally affected sales traditionally go down in November, but will rise a bit in December as people will rush to get in under the tax year. You can bet the sellers are willing to offer appropriate concessions if buyers are reasonable. There has been a bit too much unreasonableness out there this year. While we are in a buyers market it is not a pirate’s market. You will not be able to steal anything unless it is in horrible condition and it is a For Sale By Owner.

Boston Back Bay Condo for Sale

Condominium Active Listings: 162 Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 1,617.01 Avg. List$: $1,751,410 Avg. List$/SqFt: $944 Avg. DOM: 168.65

Condominium Under Agreement Listings: 20 Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 1,119.95 Avg. List$: $958,090 Avg. List$/SqFt: $794 Avg. DOM: 147.45

Condominium Sold Listings: 26 Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 1,249.00 Avg. List$: $1,057,023 Avg. List$/SqFt: $833 Avg. DOM: 152.04 Avg. Sale$: $987,577 Avg. Sale$/SqFt: $788

The List Price to Sale Price also dropped this month. 93.4% is not a bad number, but it is certainly not the kind of numbers I have gotten for my clients. Staging your home for sale and having great Internet marketing is key to getting your home under agreement faster and for more money. If you are experiencing a sluggishness please give me a call for a free analysis with no obligation.

Boston Back Bay Condo for Sale

Condominium Expired Listings: 9 Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 1,077.89 Avg. List$: $656,878 Avg. List$/SqFt: $667 Avg. DOM: 158.00

Condominium Canceled Listings: 9 Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 1,043.67 Avg. List$: $776,100 Avg. List$/SqFt: $686 Avg. DOM: 255.22

Looks like those with cancelled listing held on a bit too long. If you have a cancelled listing this month you have probably already received a note from me offering my condolences and a free analysis with no obligations. 972-322-7776


Listing Price: $999,000
Address: 285 Beacon Street - Unit 3A
City: Boston, Back Bay
State: MA
ZIP: 02116
MLS # (if any): 71246875
Square Feet: 1432
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2F
Basement (full, 1/2, finished, unfinished):

Filed Under: Back Bay, Boston, Featured, MA, Market Report Tagged With: Back Bay, Boston, Condominium housing report Nov 2011

Home for the Holidays, New home for the holidays.

November 29, 2011 By Boston Area Quick Move-In Homes Leave a Comment

4 Helock Road, Wayland, MA 01778 Dudley Pond Cape with Fireplace

Here comes December, the last month of the year. So much to do, so many things to complete, do you feel overwhelmed? Now is the time for action, enough with the research, the websites, all the data, and what is it with the data, it is all so confusing and contradictory? Real estate is made complicated by your viewpoint. Are you the buyer, or the seller? Are you the agent, or the other agent? Are you the lawyer, or the other lawyer? And all of those questions don’t even arrive until you are at the table, there is just so much work to get to table. What house, what neighborhood, what loan, what bank, what paperwork what weekends looking, and looking what, what!

Several months ago, or longer it can be safe to say, you decided to buy, or to sell. You started down the road hitting the Internet for information. There is a lot of it there. You checked that information out randomly with your friends, family, colleagues or just randomly talking to people. This bolsters your information already gathered from the Internet.


Listing Price: $349000
Address: 4 Hemlock Road
City: Wayland
State: MA
ZIP: 01778
MLS # (if any): 71221683
Square Feet: 1476
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 1/1
Basement (full, 1/2, finished, unfinished): unfinished

14 Overlood Road, Wayland, MA 01778

You remember what it was like to move to a new house, your moves through all your other living situations whether they were good or bad and rolled it all up into a ball. That was how you were going to get your new home–or sell your home. You wanted the most if you are selling and the least if you are buying. Every single day people are coming to an agreement about price and buying/selling. Real Estate is simple.

You make your money when you buy your home. So from all statistical sense there really hasn’t been a better time to buy with the prices in a buyers favor for many years gone by. Interest rates, for those who qualify, have not been this low since our parents were young.

With prices low and money cheap there is not a better time to buy. That is why you see so many cash buys. People with money realize we are at the bottom and it is where money should be to make money.

63 Westcliff Road, Weston, MA 02493

On the sell side, if you haven’t been in your home longer than 5 years you are loosing value. If you have been in your home 20 years you have seen incredible appreciation of your asset. Now, you may have used that appreciation for uses along the way and it is not available to you now, but that is just what it is and we need to understand. There is a ceiling and a floor to prices of homes. They are still of value and the market is stabilizing. Money is starting to flow back into real estate from the investor side and the consumer side is chugging along at reasonable rates. Not the rates of the heyday, but, again, they are gone, now is now.

December is a month to close and get into your new home. Start building your equity now, there really isn’t a better time.

Filed Under: Archive, Back Bay, Boston, contemporary, Featured, MA, Milton, Wayland, Wellesley, Weston Tagged With: Back Bay, Back Bay Boston, Back BayMA 02116 Housing Market Reports-February 2011, boston area quick move in homes, its all about you, Milton, Move-In, residential real estate, single family, Wayland, Wellesley, Weston, Weston real estate

Boston, Back Bay MA 02116 Condominium Housing Report Oct 2011

November 3, 2011 By Boston Area Quick Move-In Homes 1 Comment

Back Bay Housing Report Oct 11

The Boston Globe reported that prices are going up, they also reported that prices are going down and that prices are steady, all this in the last week in various reports. It is dizzying. Most of the homes in the market are actively being sold. The amount of time on the market is slowly climbing as is the average price. It is often forgotten that the buyer determines the price of a home and not the seller. The seller wants the most for their property, but it is the buyer who determines what it is worth to them. When the market is this busy with active listings it makes sense to make sure you are correctly priced for the competition. It isn’t a bad idea to go see the houses in your neighborhood that are similar and on sale just to compare.

Back Bay Housing Report Oct 11

Condominium Active Listings: 168 Average List Price: $1,656,598 Average Market Time: 167.59

Condominium Under Agreement Listings: 22 Average List Price: $1,165,173 Average Market Time: 73.14

Condominium Sold Listings: 28 Average List Price: $1,202,643 Average Sale Price: $1,127,046 Average Market Time: 146.57

Condominium Expired Listings: 20 Average List Price: $1,009,200 Average Market Time: 246.80

Condominium Canceled Listings: 10 Average List Price: $1,823,190 Average Market Time: 206.90 .


Listing Price: $1,699,000
Address: 250 Beacon Street - Unit 12
City: Boston, Back Bay
State: MA
ZIP: 02116
MLS # (if any): 71245969
Square Feet: 2075
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 3
Basement (full, 1/2, finished, unfinished):

Filed Under: Archive, Back Bay, Boston, Featured, MA, Market Report Tagged With: Back Bay, Back Bay Boston, Back Bay MA 02116 Condominium Housing Report Oct 2011, Back BayMA 02116 Housing Market Reports-February 2011, Boston, boston area quick move in homes, Boston Back Bay real estate, boston real estate for sale, bostonareaquickmoveinhomes, condomininums, Housing reports

Boston Back Bay Condominium Housing Report Sept 2011

October 19, 2011 By Boston Area Quick Move-In Homes Leave a Comment

Boston Back Bay Condominium Housing Report Sept 2011. There are a good number of Active listings this month, but not a great number unless you compare it to the number of Sold listings. 57 Active, 16 Sold. The Condos that were sold went in a shorter period of time than those on the market. 116.38 This is a 94% List price to Sale price average. This is up from the low of 91% that happened early in the year. Where the market is going this month from a look at the ongoing statistics. The market will be a little off and a little longer than you would hope. There will be increases in the interest rates and there will be more legal notices regarding the banks and foreclosures. No heads will roll.

220 Boylston Boston, MA Back Bay 02116

Condominium Active Listings: 57 Average List Price: $1,331,175 Average Market Time: 194.39 This is a long period of time. Those at Average Sale Price: $1,198,813 and above 115 days might seriously consider a price drop and some new marketing, or more and better marketing.

Condominium Under Agreement Listings: 7 Average List Price: $1,446,857 Average Market Time: 126.86

Condominium Sold Listings: 16 Average List Price: $1,263,869 Average Sale Price: $1,198,813 Average Market Time: 116.38 This is a 94% List price to Sale price average. This is up from the low of 91% that happened early in the year.

220 Boylston Boston, MA Back Bay 02116

Condominium Expired Listings: 4 Average List Price: $1,389,250 Average Market Time: 168.25

Condominium Canceled Listings: 1 Average List Price: $859,000 Average Market Time: 74.00

Boston Back Bay Condominium Housing Report Sept 2011


Listing Price: 1,300,000
Address: 220 Boylston - Unit 1110
City: Boston, Back Bay
State: MA
ZIP: 02116
MLS # (if any): 71281586
Square Feet: 1363
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
Basement (full, 1/2, finished, unfinished):

Filed Under: Archive, Back Bay, Boston, Featured, MA, Market Report Tagged With: Back Bay, Back Bay Boston, boston area quick move in homes, Boston Back Bay Condominium Housing Report Sept 2011, Boston Back Bay real estate, boston real estate for sale, housing, its all about you, Market Report

Boston, Back Bay 02116 Condo Market Report August 2011

September 13, 2011 By Boston Area Quick Move-In Homes Leave a Comment

Boston, Back Bay 02116 Condo Market Report August 2011. Last month the Back Bay had 296 condominium properties involved in the MLS market in an Active, Sold, Under Agreement, Expired or Canceled status. That is a lot of activity, but there is always a lot of activity in the Back Bay in the August September market and this year is no exception. One interesting fact about sales is that behind spring as a traditional “best time” in the market, the second highest average closes happen in December and not in the spring. This is the people wanting to get out from under and the people wanting to get in the home for various financial reasons. Ok, to the report.

220 Boylston Boston, Back Bay Condo

Condominium Active Listings: 192 Average List Price: $1,618,971 Average Market Time: 172.42

Condominium Under Agreement Listings: 22 Average List Price: $1,128,486 Average Market Time: 96.50

Condominium Sold Listings: 53 Average List Price: $849,567 Average Sale Price: $793,394 Average Market Time: 117.17

Condominium Expired Listings: 21 Average List Price: $1,174,857 Average Market Time: 200.10

Condominium Canceled Listings: 7 Average List Price: $610,386 Average Market Time: 113.71

220 Boylston Boston, Back Bay Condo

As you can see here the average listing price is high and on the market for a while–too long, while the homes Under Agreement are far less expensive and are on the market a far shorter period of time. This could possibly have to do with the price point of those looking. The Sold listings give credence to the sweet spot for price and the mid Days on Market between the lower priced and the longer time on the market for the higher priced. The expired listings could be priced too high for what other things are available in the same price range. With more choice there is more competition which drives the price down. I am not sure about these canceled listings, it seems as though they would be in the sweet spot in terms of pricing, but they are not long enough on the market to test the price.

With interest rates still low and banks still confused and making getting loans difficult you can expect the market to remain active. Lower prices, lower interest rates drive more people into the market looking for bargains. Price the property correctly and you will get activity.

Filed Under: Back Bay, Boston, Featured, MA, Market Report Tagged With: Back Bay, Back Bay Condo Market Report, Boston, boston real estate, condo sales, condos for sale

Boston, Back Bay, MA 02116 Condominium Market Report, May 2011

June 6, 2011 By Boston Area Quick Move-In Homes Leave a Comment

Boston, Back Bay, MA 02116 Condominium Market Report, May 2011. Spring is in full swing and some early activity in the month has spurred on new activity across the board in May. There is a great deal more activity in May than we have seen in a while. This month I decided to include Rental listings. There is a sector of the market selling out of their homes and deciding to rent for a bit to see how they want to reshape their lives. As you can see from the statistics Rentals are on the market a far shorter period of time than sales, but this doesn’t necessarily mean renting is better long term economically than buying. This conversation is for another posts. This Housing report shows a lot of new activity with time on the market also going up. With more inventory showing up on the market there is more competition within each price bracket so the buyer has more choice, the seller more competition. This pushes prices ever so slightly downward. I say slightly because the List Price to Sale Price for Condo’s is at a healthy 92%. This number is down from last month, but 92% List to Sale indicates that we are near the bottom of the market and people are pricing their homes correctly, or near correctly.

333 Commonwealth, Back Bay, Boston, MA 02116 Kitchen

Condominium Active Listings: 263 Average List Price: $1,414,636 Average Market Time: 137.87

Condominium Sold Listings: 33 Average List Price: $1,105,888 Average Sale Price: $1,021,894 Average Market Time: 114.55

Condominium Expired Listings: 10 Average List Price: $1,183,435 Average Market Time: 132.70

Condominium Canceled Listings: 6 Average List Price: $784,667 Average Market Time: 53.33

This month we are adding Rental Listings to this report

Rental Active Listings: 57 Average List Price: $4,350 Average Market Time: 41.72

Rental Rented Listings: 43 Average List Price: $3,292 Average Sale Price: $3,264 Average Market Time: 23.12

Filed Under: Archive, Back Bay, Boston, Featured, MA, Market Report Tagged With: Back Bay, Back BayMA 02116 Housing Market Reports-May 2011, Boston, boston condo report, Condominium Market Report

JUST LISTED-193 Beacon Street, Boston MA 02116

April 20, 2011 By Boston Area Quick Move-In Homes Leave a Comment

193 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02116 Back Bay Condominium

193 Beacon Street, Boston MA 02116 was put on the market yesterday. Tomorrow is a Broker’s Open House from 11-1. A light luncheon will be served as brokers get an opportunity to see the new look. Since it was last on the market we have redone the floors, painted, and staged which includes the de-clutter (read take 2/3rd of the personal items out). I have already had a number of calls and several showings in the first 24 hours. This property is a gem for several reasons. Aside from the fact it has 3 bedrooms which is more than the average of 2 in this size and price range in Back Bay, it has it’s own Deeded Garage Parking Space right outside the master bedroom door. Anyone who lives in the city knows what a luxury this is.

Out from the gracious living room is an oversized and private deck. This is also a luxury in the city where decks seem to be on roof tops and shared. For much of the year this space extends the usable living space, for the entire year having the grill right outside the door is a way to enjoy grilling year round.

Deeded Garage Parking Place Back Bay

Back Bay real estate is the most expensive real estate in the city for a lot of reasons. The convenience of being near shopping, parks, transportation, restaurants and entertainment makes everything a “walk to” event. Living in the heart of Back Bay provides you easy and quick access to all the highways in to and out of the city. While many public schools are struggling, the oldest public school in the country continues to be one of the best educations in the country. Boston Latin school pre-dates Harvard and Harvard was created to provide the students of that time a place to continue their education after finishing high school without having to travel to Europe. Real estate agents are known for embellishing facts, but the plain fact is this condo is special for a number of specific reasons. Call me 972 322 7776 for a look. 193 Beacon Street, Boston MA 02116 is priced to sell and ready to go.

Filed Under: Back Bay, Boston, Featured Tagged With: Back Bay, Back Bay Boston, back bay condo for sale, Boston, boston area quick move in homes, boston real estate for sale, Condo, condo for sale, Move-In, residential real estate

Boston Back Bay, MA 02116 Condo Market Reports-March 2011

April 2, 2011 By Boston Area Quick Move-In Homes Leave a Comment

193 Beacon Street Back Bay Boston Brownstone

There are so many ways to look at meaningful statistics that can provide you valuable information in your due diligence method for valuing homes and real estate in the Boston Back Bay, Condo Market Reports-March 2011. This report outlines the month of March 2011 in Back Bay of Boston, MA 02116 real estate market.

194 Condominium Actively on the Market in Boston Back Bay 02116

33 Condominiums have been Sold in Boston Back Bay 02116

30 Condominiums are Under Agreement in Boston Back Bay 02116

13 Condominiums have Expired from the market in Boston Back Bay 02116

11 Condominiums have Canceled their listings in Boston Back Bay 02116

Lots and lots of new activity. In fact, the market has exploded here right now. A flood of new listing came on the market in March which traditionally brings prices down. Let’s get to the numbers and see if that is true.

Door Knocker 193 Beacon Street, Boston MA

$1,502,430 Active List Price 154.38 Days on Market

$1,333,494 Sold List Price $1,241,345 Sold Price or almost 93% of asking price with 144.06 Days on Market

$1,241,030 Under Agreement List 122.40 Days on Market

$640,223 Expired Listing 144.62 Days on Market

$1,411,000 Canceled Listing 248.00 Days on Market

So what the numbers bear out is what is to be expected the prices came down as did the DOM for these reduced listings. This isn’t all bad news, the actual Listing Sale Price to Sold Price as a percentage came up to 93%, that is good and well within the average numbers we are seeing throughout the Boston area. The prices for the Expired and Canceled listing went up with the DOM for the Expireds going home the DOM for the Canceled coming way down. It is possible that the sellers are getting smarter here. If you or your agent has put too high a price on your home and it is not selling you need to asses and adjust. If your agent is not doing enough, or has no clue what to do it is time to find an agent who has a clear understanding of how to get your property correctly priced and sold in a reasonable period of time.

Buying a home in any market is a process where a professional approach is most beneficial. On whichever side of the deal you sit using professional skills to value and negotiate the process to the best results for you demands knowledge and experience. If you are looking in and around Wellesley, don’t forget to visit Discovering Wellesley MA on Facebook. This have been the March Condo Market Report for the Back Bay of Boston, 02116

Larry Lawfer

Realtor®, Director of Marketing

RE/MAX Landmark

larry@lawfer.com,

972-322-7776

Filed Under: Archive, Back Bay, Boston, Featured, MA, Market Report Tagged With: Back Bay, Back Bay market report, Back BayMA 02116 Housing Market Reports-February 2011, Boston, Boston Back Bay real estate, March market report