2023 Real Estate Observations (Boston: designs, occupancy, towers)

[AtkinsonDan]

Originally Posted by redplum33

For some people, getting out of the house and doing the commute is a stress reliever.

What works for some people, doesn't work for others. And vice versa.

Speaking as a WFH suburbanite, getting out of the house from time to time is nice but Boston and Cambridge are some of the last places I would want to have to go to.

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by msRB311

You would think. It's truly amazing to me that so many people on this forum would prefer to commute in, be in the office all day, then commute home every day.

I think it might help some people to get out of bed, take a shower, and have a schedule that they need to follow.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by redplum33

I think it might help some people to get out of bed, take a shower, and have a schedule that they need to follow.

As well as not having to deal with home life distractions. Or temptations like browsing internet forums that might be harder to get away with if you worked in an office.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by msRB311

If someone truly feels isolated because of WFH they should find somewhere to work where there are other people or go to starbucks...volunteer somewhere after work, etc. There are ways to see people if you really want to

Not the same thing at all. Many people are motivated by being in a team environment, and many jobs rely on effective communication among coworkers which can be a challenge when there's not that face to face thing going on.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by massnative71

Not the same thing at all. Many people are motivated by being in a team environment, and many jobs rely on effective communication among coworkers which can be a challenge when there's not that face to face thing going on.

then they should find an in office job. They are out there.

[CaseyB]

Please get back to the subject of real estate.

[Saguarogirl507]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

Please get back to the subject of real estate.

At this point I am not sure you can separate the two things. Remote work has had a direct effect on the real estate market and the housing crisis we are now enduring.

[simplexsimon]

Originally Posted by AtkinsonDan

What I find annoying is the conflation of hybrid work schedules as the same as the old 5 day in the office routine from the pre-pandemic days. How much of the office workforce is really returning to 5 days in the office?

The other area that interests me is reserving desks versus assigned seating. Pre-pandemic assigned seating was the norm. Has reserving desks or first come first serve replaced assigned seating in any meaningful way? I really like the idea of being able to choose were to sit from one day to the next, it adds some variety to the weekly routine.

Yes, I can't speak for others but I'm not talking about returning five days a week but doing 2-3 days a week in office. State Street's 4 days in office would be a big adjustment for me since I've structured my daycare around being in 2-3 days.

Reserved seating is more critical when it comes to getting an office with a door. At my company people can reserve anywhere that's not restricted, but it's outside of social norm to be hopping to a different part of the floor every time since most people like to be in the same place.

As for real estate the spring/summer flurry is over and August is usually pretty slow...curious to see what the winter brings but if interest rates remain elevated I'd expect to see prices level off/come down.

[id77]

Originally Posted by simplexsimon

Yes, I can't speak for others but I'm not talking about returning five days a week but doing 2-3 days a week in office. State Street's 4 days in office would be a big adjustment for me since I've structured my daycare around being in 2-3 days.

Reserved seating is more critical when it comes to getting an office with a door. At my company people can reserve anywhere that's not restricted, but it's outside of social norm to be hopping to a different part of the floor every time since most people like to be in the same place.

As for real estate the spring/summer flurry is over and August is usually pretty slow...curious to see what the winter brings but if interest rates remain elevated I'd expect to see prices level off/come down.

The problem I'm seeing is inventory hasn't bounced back. Even though I'm looking up in ME, I'm still seeing elevated prices for anything that's 4-season and reasonably turn-key. My agent up there is saying inventory is still in the toilet, mainly because those elevated interest rates have trapped many existing owners into their home so fewer are going up for sale. If it's happening up there, it's probably happening down here too.

Land, on the other hand, seems to have started coming back to earth. The disparity is such that it's currently cheaper for me to buy land and do new construction than it is to buy existing and bring it up to what I would get with the new construction.

[BostonMike7]

I've seen very low inventory this summer in my immediate neighborhood. Typically the area i watch has 4-6 sales per summer. This year was only 1 in the early spring, and it didn't hit the open market as it was an estate sale to a contractor.

But there are 2 houses coming up for sale soon. One is the previously mentioned estate sale. Turned into a total gut-job and flip, but the location could be better. I'd imagine this one would trend towards the lower end of the neighborhood cost range. Other house is one of the better homes in the neighborhood in a better location, so this one might be towards the higher end of the neighborhood cost range.

Guess we will see