MA Real Estate is CRAZY (Boston, Springfield: insurance, new house, luxury)

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by redplum33

Regardless, at least 1 roommate is pretty much necessary.

Originally Posted by massnative71

Which is a hard sell for people coming from parts of the country where people with regular old jobs are buying houses in their 20s.

Agreed.

Frankly, I think it's insane that this house is over a million. And, in my experience, whenever people are continuously amazed about prices, it is a bubble situation.

[Vanderbiltgrad]

SF is not a good reference point for Boston for real estate. SF has major problems with homeless and drug addiction. SF is a bloody mess even thou it is one of the most expensive cities in the world. Boston is a way better run city.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by Vanderbiltgrad

SF is not a good reference point for Boston for real estate. SF has major problems with homeless and drug addiction. SF is a bloody mess even thou it is one of the most expensive cities in the world. Boston is a way better run city.

Well, Boston does indeed have a ton of druggies and homeless, albeit still considerably less than SF. But the major reason Boston isn't as bad is because we have winter and they don't. Boston is still quite poorly run.

[alidmc]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

If you want to see how crazy RE in MetroWest can be, take a look at 77 Taylor Street in Needham. These people owned this house for almost exactly 14 months to the day and after paying $80K over the asking price 14 months ago they just sold the house for full asking price which was $50K more than that. In theory, you could say their house increased in value $50K over 14 months which is a 5%+ increase. Granted, after paying closing fees, commissions, etc. they probably lost a few dollars. However, it was likely just a few thousand and they really did nothing to the house except maybe paint and some new carpet in a few rooms.

Having been in this house. I can tell you there's nothing particularly special about it. It's not insulated with gold bars. It doesn't grant the owner three wishes. It's not located in the most sought after location in town. In fact, one of the bathrooms is still original from when the house was built with neon yellow subway tile. It's a pretty average house and there are many others in town that are similar.

Crazy!

I really can't believe a house on Taylor St sold for over a million. Those homes are smallish capes/ranches and Taylor is a narrow cut-through from Hunnewell to Central with no sidewalks. I have seen cars fly down there. Do you think it has something to do with the new Hillside school being built nearby?

[Partial Observer]

Originally Posted by alidmc

I really can't believe a house on Taylor St sold for over a million. Those homes are smallish capes/ranches and Taylor is a narrow cut-through from Hunnewell to Central with no sidewalks. I have seen cars fly down there. Do you think it has something to do with the new Hillside school being built nearby?

It has more to do with too many doctors and too many tech executives with too much money narrowing their home searches to a select few towns with limited inventory.

[porterhouse]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Well, Boston does indeed have a ton of druggies and homeless, albeit still considerably less than SF. But the major reason Boston isn't as bad is because we have winter and they don't.

Also, Boston doesn't have sidewalks and parks filled with human feces and SF does.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by yellowstatus

This. Moving from SF bay area to Boston, real estate was essentially a 50% off sale. In SF, we rented a 750 sq. ft. in-law with dated appliances and vinyl flooring worth $950k.

I just looked at the Needham house, and it's 40% cheaper than a comparable Cambridge home. Cambridge itself is 50% cheaper than comparable SF listings. If this is considered crazy, it can get far crazier I promise.

As residents we can vote and advocate for policies that makes new housing development easier. Support public infrastructure spending to expand the commutable housing. The law of supply & demand is an unforgiving element that can create seemingly harsh outcomes. Boston prices could very well double again based on job opportunities and housing development. Boston will never be cheap, but there are policies that directionally improve affordability.

It's certainly all relative as you point out. It's pretty unusual for a house to resell in such a short time frame though and I thought this was a particularly interesting sale because of that. I wasn't so much commenting on the sale price. I was more commenting on the $50K in appreciation over a 14 month period. Sure, homes in other areas probably appreciated more. For example, I had a client who almost purchased a unit at Millenium Tower for $4M pre-consrruction a few years back and the same style of unit recently resold for $5M. I'm sure there are even more outrageous examples in places like San Francisco.

Originally Posted by alidmc

I really can't believe a house on Taylor St sold for over a million. Those homes are smallish capes/ranches and Taylor is a narrow cut-through from Hunnewell to Central with no sidewalks. I have seen cars fly down there. Do you think it has something to do with the new Hillside school being built nearby?

Taylor Street also extends to the other side of Hunnewell. That section of the street is where this house is and it's a pretty quiet, low traffic spot in a cute neighborhood that's seen a lot of construction in recent years.

Personally, I'd rather spend my money on another house than lay down $1M+ for a house that doesn't even have a master bathroom. However, someone clearly liked this house.

[htfdcolt]

Originally Posted by Vanderbiltgrad

SF is not a good reference point for Boston for real estate. SF has major problems with homeless and drug addiction. SF is a bloody mess even thou it is one of the most expensive cities in the world. Boston is a way better run city.

The above point is totally misleading with respect to this discussion. The super expensive housing prices are not just the city of SF--it's the entire peninsula, the South Bay (Silicon Valley), and Alameda County. I'm out here on vacation this week, and saw on the local news that median housing prices in these regions range from $950K - $1.4M (anyone can look these up too). Some of these areas are 50 - 75 miles away from the city of SF, so the homelessness argument is irrelevant.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by htfdcolt

The above point is totally misleading with respect to this discussion. The super expensive housing prices are not just the city of SF--it's the entire peninsula, the South Bay (Silicon Valley), and Alameda County. I'm out here on vacation this week, and saw on the local news that median housing prices in these regions range from $950K - $1.4M (anyone can look these up too). Some of these areas are 50 - 75 miles away from the city of SF, so the homelessness argument is irrelevant.

You can buy a small house in Richmond walkable to the BART line with a 38 minute ride to San Francisco for $350k. Kind of like buying in Brockton.

[r_p]

Originally Posted by bugelrex

If you work in high tech, biotech or medical then metro boston is actually down right affordable compared to sf bay area and NYC. Watch those cities as leading indicators

This. Boston is much more affordable than SF/Seattle or top European/Asian cities. Also, the city is so much more liveable. OP is complaining about prices being high in Needham. Name a top-tier city where you could live on 0.25+ acre lots, amongst farms, within 15 miles, with good schools and commute (rail?) for under a million.