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UNDERSTANDING MARKET TRENDS AND CHANGES Shugrue Real Estate will regularly bring you up-to-date on the latest market developments, courtesy of Boston Homes, Boston's neighborhood real estate newspaper.
FEBRUARY 8-14, 2003:
Real Estate Sales Hold Their Value
By Marilyn Jackson Fewer real estate sales took place in Boston during December, compared to a year ago, yet the prices in most of the neighborhoods served by Boston Homes were higher, according to LINK, the Listing Information Network that tracks real estate activity in the city. Prices were higher statewide as well, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. But statewide, there were more sales of single-family homes and of condominiums in December 2002 than a year earlier. The average selling price for a single-family home last December, according to MAR, was $344,795 compared to $298,273 for the same period last year, and the average selling price of a condominium was $250,242, up 17.3 percent from a year earlier when the Realtor-affiliated multiple listing service reported an average of $213,290. The National Association of Realtors, which reported its annual sales data earlier this week, noted that 2002 was a record year for sales of existing condominiums and cooperatives. "The condo market has been outperforming the single-family housing market," added David Lereah, the chief economist for NAR. "Although condo sales accounted for only 12.9 percent of the total home sales in 2002, growth in this sector has been stronger and more consistent than growth in the single-family housing market," said Lereah. "The rising tide that is floating all boats in the housing market is the historically affordable level of mortgage interest rates," said Cathy Whartley, the newly installed president of NAR. "In addition, the condo market is flourishing because both ends of the housing market - first-time buyers and retirees - are drawn by a combination of lifestyle and affordability considerations," she said. "The typical condo price has been rising much faster than the typical single-family home price," Whatley said of the national trend. In the fourth quarter, the median selling price of an existing condo or co-op was $147,900, which is 15.5 percent higher that a year ago. The annual median condo price, nationally, was $137,100. But in Boston, which is ranked by several housing organizations as among the top three most expensive cities, the median price for condos was considerably higher. The median is the midpoint, where half of the units sold for less and the other half for more. In December, the highest median sale price among those sections was in the North End/Waterfront neighborhood. The median sale was $705,000, which purchased a two-bedroom condominium with 1,180 square feet of living space and two decks at Commercial Wharf. In 2001, the median sale price was $440,000 for a new 913-square-foot loft at 26 Stillman St., while in 2000, the median sale price was $270,500., which purchased a 753-square-foot, two-bedroom condo with exposed brick at 120 Commercial St. The Back Bay and Midtown neighborhoods saw half the number of sales in December of 2002 compared to a year earlier, and the median sale price dipped to $525,000 from $656,000. The December median sale in this neighborhood was a totally renovated condominium at the Charlesview on Beacon Street, which included two bedrooms and one bath with 705 square feet of living space. It also included deeded parking. A year earlier, the median sale was for a brand new 803-square-foot condominium at the Residences at the Ritz that also included garage parking. In 2000, the median sale price was $600,000 for a renovated duplex with three fireplaces, two bedrooms and a bath at 229 Beacon Street. The only sale in the Downtown/Leather District/Fort Point area in December 2002 was for a totally renovated condominium at 121 Beach St. It was a one-bedroom, two-bath unit with 1,496 square feet of space. No sales were recorded in December 2001, but a year earlier the median sale price in Downtown was $395,000, which purchased a 1,083-square-foot loft at 120 Lincoln St. Beacon Hill saw the median sale price increase each year, with the 2002 median registering at $490,000. That price point acquired a completely refurbished condominium at 7 Primus Ave. that had 831-square-feet of living space. The unit had two bedrooms and one-and-a-half baths. In 2001, the median sale of $350,000 purchased a condo at 37 Grove St. that included two bedrooms and two baths, plus a courtyard. It had 1,150 square feet of living space. In 2000, the median sale price was higher, $399,700. That sale was for a two-bedroom, two-bath condominium at 6 Whittier Pl. at Charles River Park. The deed included garage parking. The median sale price in the South End last December was $400,000, according to LINK. The sale was for a 665-square-foot condo with one bedroom and one bath at 130 Pembroke St. that included deeded parking. In December 2001, the median sale was a $371,188 condo at 1 St. George St. that had two bedrooms, two baths and deeded parking. A year earlier, the median sale was a new two-bedroom, two-bath condo at 1387 Washington St. that sold for $380,000. Prices in Charlestown were keeping pace with those of the South End, although it seemed that the properties were slightly larger. In December, the median sale price was $375,000, which purchased a totally renovated four-bedroom-condominium at 32 Oak St. that included 1,800 square feet of living space, plus a deck. A year earlier, the median sale price was higher. The $439,900 median sale was for one of the new condominiums at The Nautica, built just outside the Charlestown Navy Yard. The December 2000 median sale in Charlestown was $380,000, which was for a single-family house at 1 Trenton St. This residence had four bedrooms and one-and-a-half baths and a courtyard. A two-bedroom condo, with 917 square feet of living space, at 103 Gainsborough St. that sold for $345,000 was the median sale last December in the Fenway. That was a dramatic jump from a year earlier, when the median sale price was $196,000 for a 1,035-squre-foot, one-bedroom condo at 63 Park Dr. In December 2000, the median sale in the Fenway was a $210,000 condo at 15 Park Dr. that had two bedrooms within 660 square feet of living space. Jamaica Plain and South Boston, two neighborhoods with a wide variety of housing types and home prices, are the two remaining neighborhoods covered by Boston Homes. The median sale price last December in Jamaica Plain was $328,000, a price that purchased a two-bedroom single-family at 157 Boylston St. A year earlier, the median sale was for a condominium at 41 Congreve St. that sold for $245,000. In 2000, the median was $259,900, which acquired a two-bedroom condo at 65 Child St. In South Boston, the median sale price last December was $323,000, compared to $300,000 a year earlier. The December 2002 median sale was for a three- bedroom condo at 722 East Second St. that had 1,100 square feet of living space. A year earlier, the median sale purchased a totally renovated duplex at 314 West Fourth St. that has two bedrooms and one-and-three-quarter baths within 1,250 square feet of living space, plus a roof deck and two tandem parking spaces. In 2000, the median sale price was $257,000, which was for a three-bedroom, single-family home on a corner lot at 137 H St. that also included off-street parking. |
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