Is Chelsea good investment?

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by propertyinvestor123

how are chelsea and lynn for investment properties now - 5 years later from the original thread? Better investment than Revere and East Boston? Are there any other towns you would consider for investment opps.

We bought in East Boston in the summer of 2020. When we were in the market, we looked at Chelsea and thought East Boston was the better option at the time. A little over a year later, we'd make the same choice. We're occupying the unit now, but we purchased with the intent to rent it out in the future if/when we upgrade. So we took took the future rental market into consideration when looking.

Chelsea is definitely better off than it was 5 years ago and there's been a ton of investment over that time. Prices in 2021 are better than prices in East Boston, but I'm not sure the ceiling in Chelsea is as high. East Boston has better transit connections (we live a single subway stop from downtown and most of the neighborhood is within walking distance to the subway) whereas Chelsea has a mishmash of bus (very crowded, unreliable) and commuter rail (infrequent) service. Eastie also has a lot going for it in terms of livability and amenities that Chelsea doesn't. Eastie has a great harborwalk, several cohesive neighborhood centers, a transit accessible beach, a bunch of excellent parks thanks to Massport, a nice bike trail connecting the harborwalk to the beach, etc.

While Chelsea has seen a good deal of development, it's scattered mostly around old industrial areas and along busy suburban-style commercial roads. Strangely, Chelsea's center which has good urban bones and is close to the transit lines has seen very little development. The waterfront area is active working waterfront (whereas Eastie, outside of Logan, is recreational or becoming recreational) and not likely to see real redevelopment anytime soon. I think the ceiling for Chelsea's new development is something akin to the area around Alewife in Cambridge, but without the benefit of a rapid transit hub, a network of commuter and recreational bike trails and parks, and the influence of nearby Arlington.

I know very little of Lynn apart from I've driven through and felt the downtown had potential (especially if they ever extend the Blue Line). I also know the Diamond District is nice. But for us Lynn didn't make sense as it was too far from Boston.

For the record, I'd look at Revere over Chelsea too.

[G-fused]

If you asked me back in 2016, whether to invest in Chelsea or Revere, I probably would have said Chelsea. Today, I say Revere is a better one but don't think that a property in Chelsea would be a bad investment (i.e. I doubt someone would lose $).

It is odd that there are so many towns/cities in what seem to be prime locations (on the water, close to Boston) that aren't top places.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by G-fused

If you asked me back in 2016, whether to invest in Chelsea or Revere, I probably would have said Chelsea. Today, I say Revere is a better one but don't think that a property in Chelsea would be a bad investment (i.e. I doubt someone would lose $).

It is odd that there are so many towns/cities in what seem to be prime locations (on the water, close to Boston) that aren't top places.

I always assume its lack of decent subway/city access. But maybe that is antiquated thinking.

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by G-fused

If you asked me back in 2016, whether to invest in Chelsea or Revere, I probably would have said Chelsea. Today, I say Revere is a better one but don't think that a property in Chelsea would be a bad investment (i.e. I doubt someone would lose $).

IMO the reason to do investment properties is the appreciation. Chelsea is already very expensive right now as it is, and it's still very low income. College students would probably not be interested due to not having subway. You're not getting 3k rent out of some family making the min wage.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

IMO the reason to do investment properties is the appreciation. Chelsea is already very expensive right now as it is, and it's still very low income. College students would probably not be interested due to not having subway. You're not getting 3k rent out of some family making the min wage.

This is my reservation with Chelsea. It doesn't check too many boxes for the newly hybrid/remote worker, nor does it check too many boxes for student/worker who still desires or needs city living and access to Boston. It's still a little more affordable than nearby towns which gives it some appeal today. It's also developer friendly (lots of old industrial areas where neighbors won't protest construction and a development-friendly city government), but I don't think the ceiling is as high as other nearby communities. There's just too much that needs to change for Chelsea to be the type of place I'd say has a lot of upside.