Anyone Here Buying Real Estate During the Covid-19 Crisis? (Boston: condo, how much)

[bugelrex]

In the same way 9/11 forced many NYC companies to create separate offices and datacenters in other cities.. this may encourage companies to have more offices in nearby suburbs also

I dont think this is an unreasonable contingency plan for large companies

[chicagoliz]

Going back to the original topic, this article seems to be saying that the real estate market is relatively stable, and especially after the quarantine ends, there may be a big demand for real estate. https://www.bostonmagazine.com/prope...s4SV-KvQk-IUmU

I'm not sure I'm convinced, and this is all anecdotal, but a valid perspective with the limited info we have now.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by chicagoliz

Going back to the original topic, this article seems to be saying that the real estate market is relatively stable, and especially after the quarantine ends, there may be a big demand for real estate. https://www.bostonmagazine.com/prope...s4SV-KvQk-IUmU

I'm not sure I'm convinced, and this is all anecdotal, but a valid perspective with the limited info we have now.

Boston magazine is basically in the real estate business, so I trust their take on the real estate market about as much as I'd trust a real estate agent. Which is to say: it will be inordinately positive.

That being said, I wonder if one of the long-term effects of this will be to push people back to trading a little tougher commute (or a little less interesting neighborhood) for a little bigger house.

[yesmaybe]

Long Term, I would say it really depends on whether this changes employers tastes on where they are located.

[porterhouse]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

Boston magazine is basically in the real estate business, so I trust their take on the real estate market about as much as I'd trust a real estate agent.

Yes, real estate is one of Boston Magazines top 3 advertising categories. I guarantee the realtors quoted in that story have glossy spreads with their headshots in the magazine every month.

[Steephill2]

Wonder if this makes those parents who downsize after their kids graduate from high school or college think twice. If kids can’t pay the rent, time to move home temporarily, but hard to fit everyone into a one bedroom studio in downtown Boston.

[Bridge781]

I don’t see why any older person would want to move from a nice home in the suburbs to Boston now. I never really understood that in the first place to be honest. It seemed like a bunch of people in their 60s trying to hang onto their youth and contributed to soaring real estate costs in the city.

[brightdoglover]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

I don’t see why any older person would want to move from a nice home in the suburbs to Boston now. I never really understood that in the first place to be honest. It seemed like a bunch of people in their 60s trying to hang onto their youth and contributed to soaring real estate costs in the city.

So now you resent people who want to return to the city and can afford to do so? Is there no end to your resentments?

Older people want to move back to the city to get away from the sterility and boredom of the suburbs, especially if they've raised children and are finished with that family time. Don't want to be so car-dependent to drive everywhere. Want more community sense than one can get in a leafy suburb. Don't need or want the amount of space that family life called for.

I lived in Cambridge for years and moved out when tormented by the Rent Control Board. I had a 399 sq.ft. condo. I moved to a leafy town that became more suburban. I would have liked to live in Cambridge again at some point but needed the leafy world to have multiple dogs, a choice. I could not have afforded anything in Cambridge/Boston after that, but certainly wouldn't blame people who want to live there for driving up prices past where I could go.

If you want to blame anyone, blame the industry of software and biotech for bringing in so many people with high salaries who are not suburban-inclined.

[porterhouse]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

It seemed like a bunch of people in their 60s trying to hang onto their youth

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

I don’t see why any older person would want to move from a nice home in the suburbs to Boston now. I never really understood that in the first place to be honest. It seemed like a bunch of people in their 60s trying to hang onto their youth and contributed to soaring real estate costs in the city.

I can totally see it. If you need or can get by with less space, and would prefer a place without stairs or maintenance, some kind of condo or apartment fits the bill. If you don't want to drive so much (or if you develop some condition where you can't drive or it is more difficult or less desirable to drive), in the city there are more things you can drive to or take some kind of public transit or Senior transit. Cabs or Ubers are available in greater numbers, too. If you become afraid to fall, and snow and ice exacerbate this fear, if you live in the city, you can much more easily arrange things so that you would never have to leave your building. There is more food delivery, greater availability of some package and grocery delivery, and there may even be restaurants or shops or services right in your own building so you don't have to worry about any sort of transportation at all.

I don't think it's so much "hanging onto their youth" as it is maximizing their enjoyment of the good years they have.