High-End, Full-Service Condo Sales Remain Strong

[kz1000ps]

this bodes well for Columbus Center

High-end, full-service condo sales remain strong


Boston Business Journal - December 8, 2006
by Denise Magnell - Special to the Journal

In spite of a 20 percent slump in Greater Boston condominium sales this year, Realtors are finding buyers for $1 million-plus units that increasingly offer a laundry list of in-house amenities and concierge services.

"It's all about lifestyle. Yes, empty nesters are buying them, but they also are drawing younger people with families," said Debra Taylor Blair, president of Listing Information Network, which tracks the Greater Boston real estate market listings.

Although the number of high-end condos sold in Boston year to date dropped to 300 from last year's 361, the average sale prices have been about the same -- this year's is $1.67 million; last year's was $1.68 million.

In Boston, major hotel projects have added penthouse-style living with hotel services to the high-end condominium market, including The Residences at the Ritz-Carlton Towers residential towers, the planned The Residences at Mandarin Oriental in the Back Bay and residences selling at the new InterContinental Hotel on the waterfront.

But projects offering expansive views, in-house services and broad, one-floor spaces also are available a short distance away in Brookline and Cambridge.

Architect Hans Strauch, president of HDS Architecture Inc. in Watertown, is designing a project on Brookline's historic Fisher Hill that he said brings the best of city-style, full-service amenities to an open-space setting.

A mansion on the site, Longyear Manor, is being renovated into five luxury units, with five more planned in a new, adjacent building. Initial prices ranged from $1.8 million to $6.6 million. Three residences are under agreement so far, with the project slated for completion in the spring. The property offers a fitness club, heated pool and private elevators to the higher floors.

"This is country living yet so close to the city, with vistas, gardens and lots of light, flowing spaces," Strauch said.

All but one of the 16 penthouses at the Regatta Riverview Residences have been sold since it opened last year in Cambridge. In nine cases, buyers bought two adjacent units several floors lower to create one-level homes of 1,800 square feet to 2,100 square feet. Prices ranged from $1.3 million to $1.6 million.

"We never marketed it that way and never planned to combine them. But some people liked the view, and found one unit didn't offer enough space," said sales manager Tony Zarbano.

Regatta prices weren't lowered as the real estate market slowed, but Zarbano said prospective buyers were offered more upgrades and reduced condo fees to stay competitive.

Realtors have been heartened by a fairly busy November, when the onslaught of the holiday season usually dries up business.

Chobee Hoy, who heads Chobee Hoy Associates firm in Brookline, said she was getting "some healthy offers" just before Thanksgiving and recently sold a 2,800-square-foot condo in the Coolidge Corner area for $1.9 million.

She believes the increased activity just prioer to Thanksgiving bodes well for 2007. "There's a lot of disagreement about this, but my feeling is we've bottomed out, or we're darn close to it."

? 2006 American City Business Journals, Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved.

[IMAngry]

The numbers I pulled from LINK are:

2004: 410 condos sold greater than $1,000,000
2005: 440 condos sold greater than $1,000,000
2006: 355 condos sold greater than $1,000,000 (closed by 12/1/2006)

Not sure why the discrepancy from the numbers reported by the owner of LINK, but seems consistent; number of units sold this year are down from last.

However, it's too simple a comparison.

In 2004 and 2005, you had a whole bunch of sales of the Ritz Carlton Towers. In 2005, you had a whole bunch of sales at 1 Charles.

This increased the numbers for those two years. (2006 also saw a good number of sales at 1 Charles, and resales at the Ritz Carlton.)

The number of sales this year was lower, one, because of a slower market, but, two, because of less supply.

Also, it's too soon to report 2006 numbers; 500 Atlantic (the InterContinental) sales began during the middle to end of October; they are only halfway through the building, as of this Monday.

This will bring the total much closer to the 2004 number, but, of course, not very close to the 2005 number.

[kz1000ps]

Originally Posted by Boston Globe

Luxe downtown condos skirt housing bust

Sales at near-record level in flush year for many on Wall Street
By Kimberly Blanton, Globe Staff | January 6, 2007

Massachusetts real estate may be in the midst of its steepest downturn since the 1990s, but luxury condominium sales in downtown Boston barreled along at near-record levels, according to preliminary 2006 estimates released yesterday by Otis & Ahearn, a Boston brokerage firm.

Both sales of $1 million-plus condos and sales of condos costing more than $1,000 per square foot will approach 2005's record sales in Boston's high-end market, the firm said.

"The accumulation of wealth has been dramatic," said Kevin Ahearn, president. "We're seeing it in the stock market, and we're seeing it in the condominium housing market."

Empty-nesters and well-heeled young professionals and couples are snapping up contemporary units with their full complement of amenities, from reserved indoor parking spaces to Italian marble bathrooms overlooking Boston Harbor or the Charles River, real estate agents and economists said. Responding to the demand, developers have added thousands of luxury units downtown in recent years. Construction continues, but has slowed from the pace of recent years. Two major developments under construction, The Residences at Mandarin Oriental on Boylston Street and the Residences at Battery Wharf, are slated to open in 2008, Ahearn said.

The overall downtown condo market peaked in 2004, with 4,670 sales; the number of units sold is expected to be about 19 percent less in 2006 when final numbers are tallied. In contrast, sales over $1 million peaked a year later, at 388 units, and are expected to approach that level in 2006, the firm said.

Prices of luxury units also have held steady. The median price for million-dollar-plus condos in 2006 was $1.4 million, roughly equal to 2005's median, the firm estimated. Statewide, the median sales price for a single-family home fell 4 percent in the past year, to $340,000, while the median condominium price was up 2 percent, to $270,000, according to November figures released by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. The association also reported that sales of single-family homes fell 13 percent in the same time period.

Strength in the downtown market isn't easy for economists to explain, but mortgage interest rates provide a clue. Wealthy buyers are more likely to pay cash for all or a large share of their property, making them less sensitive to rate hikes that dampened demand among middle-class buyers over the past year.

Larissa Duzhansky, an economist for Global Insight, a Lexington consulting firm, said hefty paychecks for money managers and other executives in Boston's financial center, coupled with a strong economy, also fueled million-dollar sales. The Dow Jones industrial average, an index of blue chip stocks, surged 16 percent last year.

In Boston, "You've got State Street; you've got Fidelity; you've got Putnam, and Bank of America," Duzhansky said. Employees at those corporations "might be saying, 'I just had a really good year in investing, and this might be a good time to buy something, and I might buy it for cash.' "

There were still soft spots in the high-end market, especially in the latter half of 2006. The developer of FolioBoston, a condo project in the Financial District, decided to quickly auction off his remaining, unsold condos on a Saturday afternoon in October, rather than risk slogging sales in an uncertain market.

And wealthy buyers are discerning, shunning condo projects that lack parking or preferring large, one-floor units in new buildings to large condos spread over three- or four-story brownstones that require them to walk up and down the stairs of historic buildings.

"It seems like the resale market is down" for condos in existing buildings, "but the new construction market is still holding strong," said Beth Dickerson, who has catered to Back Bay buyers and sellers for more than 15 years.

"We had some slow periods in 2006 but at the end of the year, when you look at the numbers," she said, "it's all still good."

Kimberly Blanton can be reached at blanton@globe.com.
? Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.

[kz1000ps]

More coverage: http://www.boston.com/business/specials/realestate/

Originally Posted by The Globe

Downtown condo sales rebound

By Kimberly Blanton, Globe Staff | February 2, 2007

Downtown Boston's condominium market staged a year-end rebound, resulting in a modest 3.4 percent decline in condo prices for all of 2006.

The median price for the 3,494 condos sold in 2006 was $449,000, according to Listing Information Network, or Link. Sales fell 9.8 percent for the year, making it the slowest year downtown since 2003.

The gains in sales and prices during the three months ending in December -- prices were up 2.8 percent compared to the prior-year period -- spurred optimism among agents and market analysts for a turnaround this year.

"It looks like we really hit bottom in the third quarter, and we're at the start of a slow climb out," said Link's president, Debra Taylor Blair. She said interest rates and the supply of condos for sale have remained low, supporting prices.

But while "it's a recovery," she added, "it's not going to spring back overnight."

The sales spike may prove only temporary, possibly due to a warm fall and winter. Spring sales will be key to determining the Boston market's direction. But while downtown sales struggled for much of last year, it nevertheless was a stark contrast to the suburban market for single-family homes. There, sales volume last year reached its lowest point in a decade, driving the median price down 5.4 percent in December, to $335,000.

The suburban downturn is dampening sales in the city because empty-nesters who may want to move into the city are waiting until the suburban market turns around to sell the family home, agents said.

As these buyers retreat, they will also affect downtown residential construction, said Jon Gollinger, president of the Collaborative Cos., a Boston real estate marketing and firm. "It's got to, and it has," he said.

But Gollinger said prices remain relatively firm downtown because the inventory of condos has shrunk this year. Rising costs for building have also curbed development after a period of unprecedented residential construction and has limited housing supply just as demand was also falling, he said.

A strong fourth quarter was "an indication that the marketplace is starting to find some traction," he said. "The jury is out. We'll have a better idea after the first quarter."

Matt Winterle, the 25-year-old cofounder of Boston Condo Group LLC, which posts units for prospective buyers on bostoncondogroup.com, said his friends' parents in some cases are deciding to sink money into a downtown condo, even though they haven't sold their house.

Winterle, who is also a real estate agent, said clients who are young professionals are also suddenly buying because rents increased downtown at the same time that condo prices dropped. "They're just fed up with rentals," he said. "I see a lot of first-time home buyers."

The biggest jump in sales occurred in Boston's waterfront neighborhood , up 73 percent to 289 units. That was driven by sales at the Residences at the Intercontinental, a large, luxury project with condo prices from $725,000 to $6.8 million for a sprawling penthouse unit overlooking Boston Harbor.

Less pricey, alternative neighborhoods were also "bright spots" last year, including Midtown, the Leather District near South Station, and the North End, Link's Blair said.

About a 2007 recovery, she said, "I think it's started."

Kimberly Blanton can be reached at blanton@globe.com.
? Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.

[kz1000ps]

Condo prices in the city leap 7%

Downtown outshines suburbs in 1st quarter
By Kimberly Blanton, Globe Staff | April 14, 2007

Downtown Boston's condominium market continues to outshine the suburban housing sector.

Prices for condominiums in the city jumped 7 percent in the first quarter of this year, compared to the same period in 2006, to a median $489,800, according to preliminary market figures compiled by Otis & Ahearn, a Boston real estate brokerage and marketing firm. In contrast, prices for single-family homes in Massachusetts fell 5.7 percent in the same period, according to Global Insight, a Waltham economic and consulting firm.

The downtown condo market "is cooking," said Kevin Ahearn, Otis & Ahearn's president. "There's very aggressive buying" in all price ranges, he said.

Sales figures, though preliminary, also indicate a good quarter. In the first quarter, 760 condo sales have been posted to date, for a total value of $512 million. That compares to 759 sales in the first quarter of 2006, for a total of $446 million. Here, home sales compare more favorably: The number of single-family properties sold so far this year is up some, according to the most recent available data.

But Ahearn predicted that when the final condo sales figures are in, the recent quarter's performance may even surpass the first-quarter record set in 2005: 784 units sold.

Indeed, Jon Goode, office manager for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage's office in the South End, said his office's sales are exceeding last year's pace "by a good amount." He attributed that to a combination of fewer condo projects coming on the market, which will keep supplies limited, and slightly softer prices, which have sparked new interest among buyers.

"The market's feeling very strong," Goode said. "We're pleasantly surprised at the health of the marketplace."

Ahearn based his tallies on sales posted to date at Listing Information Network Inc., or Link, which tracks downtown sales, and on the Multiple Listing Service Property Information Network, the central database for real estate agents. Ahearn said first-quarter data are not yet final, because some listings reported in the state's registries may not yet be recorded by Link and MLS.

Ahearn said the strong gains indicate that condos in all price ranges are selling well. He has also said that a strong stock market early this year drove sales by professionals working in Boston's financial sector.

Driving the price gains "are big increases in prices over a broad number of units and great activity at the very top of the market," he said.

Kimberly Blanton can be reached at blanton@globe.com.

? Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.

[vanshnookenraggen]

Hmm, I can understand the increase in Charlestown but Mattapan? And what's going on in Eastie?

[JimboJones]

I haven't analyzed the numbers, but if you're talking about the drop of 11% in East Boston prices from 2005 to 2006, it could be that the earlier year's sales were inflated by closings at Porter 156. The price per square foot of those units were higher than had been seen in East Boston. Therefore, 2006 average sales prices dropped back to the norm.

[JimboJones]

You know, that's what's wrong with statistics. They can be manipulated to support any point of view.

The Globe graph from February is useless. It compares data from fiscal year 2005 and fiscal year 2006 - this data is totally out of date. Fiscal year 2006 ended June 30, 2006. You might as well use data from 1956, it's as relevant.

Regarding East Boston, here's the data from LINK, the online listing service used by most downtown Boston real estate agents (it includes all sales data culled from the Registry of Deeds).

2005: Sold -- Avg. Selling Price: $398,285 -- Median Selling Price: $420,000 -- Avg. $/SF: $196 -- Avg. DOM: 39

2006: Sold -- Avg. Selling Price: $336,158 -- Median Selling Price: $306,062 -- Avg. $/SF: $305 -- Avg. DOM: 76

So, average sales price and median sales price have gone down, a lot. Sounds dire!

Average days on market has almost doubled. Sounds dire!

What happened?

Porter 156 was completed and buyers closed on their purchases. Over 100 of these condos were bought for less than $300,000 each. This seriously skewed the data results.

In fiscal year 2005, there were 281 sales of condos and 1-to-3 family homes. In fiscal year 2006, there were 434 sales of condos and 1-to-3 family homes. That's a big difference (over a 50% increase).

The average days on market number doubled, because all of the Porter 156 listings had been put into the system back when the development was under construction.

Numbers don't lie, right? Or, do they?

[kz1000ps]

Originally Posted by The Globe

Hub condo sales drop, prices rise

Declines hit Fenway, Waterfront, South End

By Kimberly Blanton, Globe Staff | April 26, 2007

Boston's condominium market posted a surprisingly weak start of the year as sales in in-town neighborhoods dropped 8 percent in the first quarter of 2007.

The drop in sales was most pronounced in condo buildings along Boston's waterfront, which had 40 fewer sales in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, and in the South End and Fenway neighborhoods, according to Listing Information Network Inc., or Link, which tracks the industry.

All other in-town city neighborhoods except the West End posted higher sales, Link said. Link includes Boston's neighborhoods from Charlestown to the Fenway, Back Bay to South Boston, and the South End, in its analysis.

But Link said the median price for a downtown condo increased 4 percent in the first quarter to $479,000.

The Link numbers are in contrast to a report issued two weeks ago by Otis & Ahearn, a Boston real estate brokerage and marketing firm, that said condo sales were essentially flat in the first quarter and prices up 7 percent.

Kevin Ahearn, Otis & Ahearn president, said his analysis included East Cambridge, where sales were up, a neighborhood not covered by the Link report.

He also said some developers do not report all their condo sales to Link.

Ahearn reiterated his earlier view that Boston's in-town condo market is thriving.

Other brokers, however, sought to explain the 8 percent sales drop in the Link report by suggesting the condo market may be suffering from a tough comparison to early last year, when new buildings such as the 266-unit Gateway Terrace Lofts in the South End posted strong sales.

That's the view of Brad Sprogis of Sprogis and Neal Real Estate, who also said newly built or renovated units are selling faster than old buildings that need costly repairs or refurbishing.

"Buyers don't get very excited about taking on a renovation project," he said. "People are definitely gravitating towards new or freshly refurbished."

And, when they do buy, they are also gravitating to larger, higher-end units. More three- and two-bedroom units sold during the first quarter of 2007 than a year ago, while sales of one-bedroom units dropped by a whopping 28 percent, and sales of studio units also declined.

Moreover the average price of downtown units increased by 12 percent. Average prices -- in contrast to the median price, which is at the mid-point of all condos sold -- are typically pulled up by sales in the highest-price ranges.

"The big ones are selling faster because those tend to be the new construction units," said Link president Debra Taylor Blair.

Kimberly Blanton can be reached at blanton@globe.com.
? Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.