Boston Condo, Loft and Luxury Boston Real Estate Blog

“I will literally be the old woman who lived in her shoes.” - Carrie

Many women like myself have often wondered if they would ever own their own condo or home. After much research, it was quite refreshing to discover that women today are more independent and financially secure than ever before. They wait longer to get married (good job ladies, be more selective!) and they have great higher-paying jobs as compared to previous generations. Where are these strong independent women living these days? Urban condominiums of course!

In 2006, a study at Harvard University found that 1 in 5 buyers of real estate were women and that single women make up more than 1/3 growth in real estate ownership since 1994. There are twice as many unmarried women buying homes than single men (you go Girl!) which has lead to a new trend in real estate construction where more features are built to cater to women. What are single women buyers looking for?

Here’s a few examples…
-Safe, urban neighborhoods
-Close proximity to public transportation
-Walking distance to stores and restaurants
-New kitchens with islands for entertainment
-Newly finished hardwood flooring
-Light-colored walls
-Bathrooms with soaking tubs as well as showers
-Ample drawer and counter space
-Walk-in closets
-Gas fireplaces
-Well-lit parking
-Condos with front door guard
-Home security systems

Whether they are unmarried, divorced, or the decision-maker in their family, women are now making 75% of home-buying decisions today. In general, women buy real estate in cities rather than urban areas and prefer condos over single-family homes. Women tend to compromise the size and cost for other amenities but won’t compromise on location or quality of the neighborhood so a close proximity to stores, shopping, and fitness centers is crucial.

Ladies, start searching for your new fabulous condo in Boston today!

For all of your downtown divas who are shopaholics like myself looking for great shops and a safe neighborhood, you might want to check out some of the great condos in Boston’s posh Back Bay!

And as always, check the blog for new and exciting posts about Boston today!

Source: USA Today, Media Post Publications

FP3 Loft Model Now Open! We have all been waiting so long to get into this building. With the office right here in the Seaport / Fort Point Channel, we have been watching this building complete for the past 6 months. Well, we are booking our first tour of the building today. Anyone interested in FP3 want to come along? If so shoot us a note.

Some FP3 Listings in Boston MLS:
$1,898,000, 2 Bd, 2 Ba, 1919
$1,800,000, 2 Bd, 2 Ba, 1803
$1,394,000, 2 Bd, 2 Ba, 1574
$1,029,000, 2 Bd, 2 Ba, 1336
$655,000, 1 Bd, 2 Ba, 1114
$646,000, 1 Bd, 2 Ba, 1210

 Below is the sold unit list from last weeks Broadluxe Auction.

 According to the Boston Condo Guy:

• Number of units sold: 29 out of 44 units were sold (66%)
• Average Sales Price per Square Foot: $494
• Neither of the two (finished) duplexes sold
• Neither of the two (unfinished) penthouse units sold

Boston sports aren’t the only things on top in this happening city today…

 An article posted on the WSJ website today reports that the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price indexes, a closely watched gauge of U.S. home prices, show price declines continued to get steeper in April, with prices in every region surveyed now showing year-over-year drops. However, there are small, yet significant findings in some major metropolitan areas, showing a slight improvement from April to May. 

Out of the eight metropolitan areas able to avoid a decline from April over to May, it comes as good news that Boston would be included on the list. Although there has still been a decline since 2007, Boston is still ahead of the curve in terms of moving forward and continuous growth. 

In general, studies have shown that on a month-to-month basis, median prices for condominiums have increased by 2.7% from last month. With all of the new construction in Boston such as the Mandarin Oriental, and most recently, the proposal for luxury condominiums to be built from Copley Place, urban construction has continued to grow throughout the downtown area. 

With the rising gas prices, one must have to consider the convenience AND savings that urban living has to offer now more than ever. There appears to be a growing trend in urban condominium living , attracting  not only suburban professionals, but small families and baby boomers as well. The financial burden high gas prices have created play a major role in the decision to purchase an urban condominium. It’s not a surprise that Boston is experiencing booming condo construction considering how it is so easy to walk just about anywhere downtown. 

For more fabulous Boston happenings, feel free to check out our blog 

Source: WSJ.com, The Boston Globe

Copley Place owner Simon Property Group Inc. is moving ahead with plans to remake the Back Bay skyline with a 47-story condo tower that will also expand the upscale mall’s footprint.The mall owner, in a proposal filed yesterday with City Hall, details plans for nearly 800,000 square feet of new residential and Retail space at the corner of Dartmouth and Stuart streets.

Along with 280 high-rise condos, Simon is also banking on a significant expansion of Copley Place.

The proposal calls for adding 54,000 square feet to the existing 115,000-square-foot Neiman Marcus store, which would be renovated as well. Another 60,000 square feet of retail would be added beyond that, including space for a restaurant and a winter garden.

The condo tower will include a health club, luxury day spa, library and concierge service.

“The project will enhance the urban fabric of the neighborhood and be a striking addition to the city’s skyline,” said Carl Dieterle, executive vice president for urban development at Simon, in a statement.

Continue…

Source: Boston Herald

Other Blogs on Copley Place

Search Back Bay Condos

So I previewed a few open houses today for my clients and of course (as social as I am) I made new friends & hopefully new clients while chatting with other perspective buyers. One question I did ask anyone (just curious, not trying to sell anything) was that if they were using a buyers agent to help them find their new home.

The answer: none of them were at that point in time which totally caught me by surprise.

So why no buyers agents involved? Well, most of them said they wanted to do most of the work on their own. Hmm, I can understand that totally, I would do the same. Some of them also said they would most likely just try to do it themselves or call ZipRealty or Redfin when they were ready to buy. Ahhhh…..now your talking.

The point to this post is that we all need to do a better job educating the ‘buying’ public. It does not cost you a thing to work with a buyers agent so their is NO reason not to have an agent on your side, sending you properties and researching information for you and when you are ready to submit an offer, your agent will be able to plow through the paperwork, make sure your proper contigencies are there to protect you and help negotiate the best possible price for you!

But…

Another great reason to use a buyers agent is to SAVE $$$. (and I am not just talking about getting you a better deal on your offer price).

You now have options…as two companies I listed above offer buyers rebates or refunds back to you at closing as we do too (we have the biggest refund on the market today!)

Ok, how does this work, right?

When a seller lists a property 9 out of 10 times he lists with a full service real estate agent which charges a 6% fee to sell the property. So if the seller sells the property direct, the listing agent gets a big whopping 6% commission check (thats 30k on a 500k purchase), not bad right….well that hardly happens.

Most sales include both the listing agent and a buyers agent. Now here is where WE come in as your buyers agent. As your buyers agent, when we submit an offer for you, we are entitled to 50% of the listing agents commission (so we would recieve 3% of the 6% or $15,000 in this example).

The Good Stuff…

Now…not only are we going to work exclusively for you, do all the grunt paperwork and negotiations, BUT, we are also going to GIVE YOU most of our commission. See here in Boston, no matter what the sale price is or how much the commission is, we only KEEP $5,000 and we REFUND you the remainder.

Sound crazy? Well, it kind of is…but it who we are and what we do!

Want to know how we do it? Check out this link…

CondoDomain Buyers Agent vs. Traditional Buyers Agent

Want to learn more…watch this movie.

The 1850 & ZipCar have joined forces to offer residents the opportunity to have a car right outside their door! That’s right, with buyers living in The 1850 and units officially closing, a last minute weekend away to the Cape or a trip to the NH mountains is at your doorstep! Two ZipCar vehicles will be parked outside The 1850 to accommodate our new residents who need car access. All 1850 buyers will have ZipCar at their fingertips! We welcome the opportunity to bring you another great benefit to living at The 1850 and celebrate our first week of buyers closing on their condos!

Want to check out The 1850? There is an Open House this Sunday 11-1!

1 Bedrooms starting at $365K’s
2 Bedrooms starting in the mid $400K’

(Make sure you let them know that CondoDomain sent ya…so you can ensure you get your cash refund at the closing!)

Reported yesterday, Asia’s most expensive apartment to date, was sold for 28.8 million U.S. dollars. Overlooking Hong Kong’s Kowloon region, The Arch, a future office building just minutes from Hong Kong’s central business district, features a fabulous view of Victoria Harbour and an incredibly unique design. The 5,500 square foot penthouse suite, located on the 80th floor, has it’s own rooftop terrace and private swimming pool.

After reading the article this morning, it got me thinking…What is the most expensive apartment in the world? And Where? With a little help from my buddy Google, I started my search.

Early in June, Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront sold one of the first three prime penthouses for a whopping R110 million. Each two-story penthouse in this soon-to-be waterfront hotel location, features a private pool, private lift, and a wide array of personalized concierge services. This purchase establishes this apartment to be the most expensive apartment in Africa today.

A Sydney apartment, in the posh Potts Point urban village, an apartment was sold for 20 million U.S. dollars. The two-level penthouse features unbelievable views of the city’s most notable landmarks- the Opera House and Sydney Harbour.

Back on the home front, it appears as if New York City would of course trump them all with the triplex penthouse in The Pierre hotel, overlooking Fifth Avenue and Central Park, that was previously on the market for a steal –70 million U.S. dollars.

As you read this, you think, “Of course that would be the most expensive apartment, New York City is the most expensive city!” Well…think again.

“A lot of people in New York complain about the high cost of living in the city, but they can be considered trailer park trash compared to what people are paying in London right now,” according to Wall$treet Fighter.

Although it will not be completed until 2010, the new luxury building, One Hyde Park, located in London’s Knightsbridge neighborhood can currently claim that it has sold the most expensive apartment in the world! Some of the unique amenities that can be found in this penthouse include rather unusual security features including a panic room and secret underground passage leading to the nearby Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Definitely worth the 200 million U.S. dollars, don’t you think? Also included are communal spas, wine-tasting facilities, wooden baths, marble surfaces, and floor-to-ceiling fridges…one-of-a-kind? Definitely! Is it worth the enormous price tag? Only time will tell…

If you find yourself wanting more, check out this list of the World’s Most Expensive Apartments

And if you want to find the most expensive Boston apartments check out:

$12.5M 776 Boylston St

$11.95M 128 Commonwealth Ave

$10.9M 56 Beacon St

$10.25M 150 Beacon St

And for even more luxury condominiums, visit our site Boston.CondoDomain.com

Source: lushhomeonline, Wall$treet Fighter, Forbes.com, Marquette Turner, Independent Online

(Picture Above: Developers for Industrie Lofts Mario & Leo showing CondoDomain Boston CVP Jessica Anthony and Team Member Lauren Lanzillo)

Yesterday we got a private developer tour of the all new Industrie Lofts which are almost complete. Industries Lofts is located at 950 Broadway in Chelsea, MA - about a 5 iron from Route 16. It took us all of about 11 minutes to get from our office here in downtown Boston to the Industrie Lofts, so, to answer your question of convenient to Boston - it is!

Industrie Lofts consists of 36 residential units and 5 commercial street level units which will consist of retail space. (Possibly a cafe, dry cleaning, art studio, etc).

Price Points for Industrie Lofts are from $230k - $350k and every unit includes a garage parking spot and a large private outdoor terrace!

Some of our favorite units include:

# 35 which is 1240 sq/ft and is priced at $275k

# 19 which is 940 sq/ft and is priced at $235k

and then there is…

#36, massive 1500 sq/ft with city views (BOSTON VIEWS) and is priced at 320k!

Blog posts on Industrie Lofts

Press Release:

CondoDomain Boston Promotes New City Vice President

Boston, MA – CondoDomain.com is pleased to announce that Jessica Anthony has been named City Vice President of its Boston marketplace.

Anthony, who previously worked for STAG Capital in Boston, joined CondoDomain earlier this year. From day one, she has helped contour and jump-start the new web-based buyers’ brokerage services when CondoDomain converted from an ad-based condominium website into a web-based real estate brokerage.

“Jessica is a superior individual for this organization,” noted Anthony Longo, Founder & CEO of CondoDomain.com. “It was a simple decision to hand over the reigns considering what she has done for this startup and the response that we have received from our clients.”

Anthony will now be in charge of all of the real estate brokerage activities in the Boston marketplace. Through her small team of condominium experts, she looks to set new benchmarks and service levels while continuing to fine-tune the business model locally.

“At CondoDomain I work with $300,000 clients and $3,000,000 clients. I treat each client with the same level of professional courtesy and work equally as hard,” said Anthony. “Our clients engage us to help them with the purchase of their new home, it just makes sense that we are compensated for our service and expertise, not on the final purchase price of their home.”

In addition, Anthony will strive forward to make CondoDomain the premier destination online and offline. By not only working with individual clients, Anthony will also manage our online audience through social networks, blogging, and other Boston syndicate channels.

About CondoDomain.com

CondoDomain.com is a web-based real estate brokerage based in Boston, MA. The company is expanding nationwide to offer its buyers’ brokerage services in more than 30 cities around the U.S. Currently operating in Boston, CondoDomain offers an innovative flat-fee business model allowing the majority of the commission to be refunded to the buyer. By combining up-to-date MLS feeds, new construction buildings, FSBO, Foreclosures, Lofts and Auction listings all on one site, CondoDomain has become one of the most popular and user friendly real estate websites available. CondoDomain.com offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee to all of its clients, ensuring a professional, efficient, and pleasant transaction. Visit www.CondoDomain.com for more information or feel free to dive into our blogs at www.CondoDomain.com/blog.

For more information, please contact Erica Farthing at (877) 852-6636.

Today (through a broker peer of mine) I came across a site called BlueEdge, which claims to be a discount brokerage owned and operated by Coldwell Banker. I didnt believe it when I saw it. Does anyone else know about this?

Blue Edge offers both sell-side and buy-side real estate brokerage for 2% which is what we all know 1% less than the traditional real estate commission.

I am still in aww that Coldwell Banker is involved with this. I need more details…anyone got any?

Note: Don’t be confused with BlueRoof, a successful Prudential owned discounter in Utah.

Minimum Bids pricing JUST RELEASED for the Broadluxe Auction. To access this information you have to login to the BroadluxeAuction.com website and click on the “Unit Tab” for details and floor plans.

Also what Broadluxe DID NOT have when they first came to market was parking. Broadluxe is now offering deeded parking (valet parking too!). The parking spots are located in the Folio underground garage which is located right across the street - very convenient.

If you are interested in the Broadluxe Auction located in downtown Boston please do check out the website and register. The site is packed with every piece of information you need. Also, pretty much the entire minimum pricing list and floor plans are available.

DON’T FORGET! We have previews scheduled Thursday 3PM-7PM, Saturday 10AM-12Noon, and Tuesday from 10AM-2PM

If you are interested in bidding on a unit(s) at the Broadluxe Auction, MAKE SURE to contact us so we can REGISTER you. Letting us register you allows us to represent you as a buyers broker at the auction. This also allows you to take part in our innovative business model which refunds you back cash at closing for the majority of our commission. (Our average client gets back more than $13,000 at the closing!)

The Auction is set to be held on June 21st @ 10:00 a.m.

Auction Location

Langham Hotel
250 Franklin Street
Boston, MA 02110