Which parts of Roxbury and Dorchester are most desirable? (Boston: real estate, renter)

[Whatsnext75]

right prices have gone up everywhere. There ARE some desirable part of Dorchester that are hot right now....but then there are other areas where people are getting shot in broad daylight.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by Whatsnext75

right prices have gone up everywhere. There ARE some desirable part of Dorchester that are hot right now....but then there are other areas where people are getting shot in broad daylight.

In other words, people may be getting shot in broad daylight but that's not going to bother some absentee slum lord who gets guaranteed rent from the government every month while spending zero $ on upkeep.

[such sweet thunder]

Originally Posted by massnative71

In other words, people may be getting shot in broad daylight but that's not going to bother some absentee slum lord who gets guaranteed rent from the government every month while spending zero $ on upkeep.

I understand what you're trying to get at in theory but it doesn't make sense in practice. What you have described if it is indeed the case would only put a floor on sale prices in certain areas, it wouldn't explain the high purchase prices in parts of Roxbury and Dorchester, and it would have no influence on rental prices. (If anything, it might have a negative influence on rental prices to the extent that landlords renting to people in Section 8 are less likely to upkeep their homes.)

Regardless, I'm not sure how much Section 8 is left in Savin Hill and Fort Hill anyway.

[Whatsnext75]

Bottom line is that many people don't want to spend their money in an area where people are frequently shot and stabbed when they have other choices.

[tysmith95]

Originally Posted by Whatsnext75

Bottom line is that many people don't want to spend their money in an area where people are frequently shot and stabbed when they have other choices.

Number of people murdered so far this year in South Boston: 2. Number of people murdered so far this year in Savin Hill: 0.

Just saying

[Whatsnext75]

there may not have been any in savin hill but there have been in dorchester and savin hill is part of dorchester:

Dorchester crime | Universal Hub

That is a lot of shootings right there...and i know of another that happened last week that isnt on that list. So i'm sure there other unrecorded ones.

[such sweet thunder]

Originally Posted by Whatsnext75

Bottom line is that many people don't want to spend their money in an area where people are frequently shot and stabbed when they have other choices.

I don't see how that can be your takeaway. As Tysmith alludes to, Southie has been problematic for a long time in terms of serious crime. That didn't stop people from paying 3k+ for a two bedroom after the Seaport District went up. People seem to want to live close to where they work. The neighborhoods that are closer to Boston's business centers, like many areas of Dorchester and Roxbury, are more desirable than neighborhoods that are further out, which is why they are more expensive.

This is neither here not there but I also wouldn't agree that Dorchester and Roxbury are in total areas where people are frequently shot and stabbed. The crime in Dorchester and Roxbury is more localized than that.

[tysmith95]

Originally Posted by Whatsnext75

there may not have been any in savin hill but there have been in dorchester and savin hill is part of dorchester:

Dorchester crime | Universal Hub

That is a lot of shootings right there...and i know of another that happened last week that isnt on that list. So i'm sure there other unrecorded ones.

Sure Savin Hill is near some bad neighborhoods. However it's blocks from the Tony parts of the South End to probably the worst part of the city where Mass Ave and Melinda Crass meet up (lots of drugs, homeless, crime, and beggers). It also isin't far from some of the bad parts of Roxbury. That doesn't the south end from being one of the most expensive and desirable neighborhoods in Boston.

Savin Hill isin't the south end (the housing stock is worse) but I could argue that parts of Dorchester like Savin Hill have just as much if not more potential then Southie.

This sounds bad but the reason why Southie gentrified so much despite it's former seedyness is because it was a white neighborhood. If Southie was an African American neighborhood it would be more like Roxbury is today. It just seems like black neighborhoods tend to gentrify much more slowly compared to white, or even Asian and Hispanic ones.

[massnative71]

Southie has a population of 35k vs. 15k in Savin Hill.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by such sweet thunder

I understand what you're trying to get at in theory but it doesn't make sense in practice. What you have described if it is indeed the case would only put a floor on sale prices in certain areas, it wouldn't explain the high purchase prices in parts of Roxbury and Dorchester, and it would have no influence on rental prices. (If anything, it might have a negative influence on rental prices to the extent that landlords renting to people in Section 8 are less likely to upkeep their homes.)

It might not make sense but that is how it is, how it has been for as long as I can remember. Even back in the 80s, the market rate rents were higher in Roxbury than they were in Brighton. You cannot tell me Roxbury was a desirable place back then, to live.


There is not always a correlation between what an absentee investor is willing to pay, to where actual people want to make their home.