Archive for February, 2008
February 29, 2008
We recently touched on how the lack of decent mass transit hurt the South End. Boston’s mass transit needs to expand, and this guy created a fantasy subway plan that benefits the South End. Seven Green Line stops between New England Medical Center and Dudley Square is genius!
I’d like to see it follow Washington Street, turning south at Columbia Square, to the Boston Medical Center. Then it could head out to South Bay before turning west to Dudley Square.
My plan is not the most direct route, but it connects Boston Medical Center to New England Medical Center. It also hits a bunch of big employment centers in South Bay- not just retail, but also the light industry in the area.
Does anyone have suggestions for other South End or Boston train lines? Where else could we put stations to benefit the city and the neighborhood?
Mass transit could be a great help to the South End and South Bay, but after the Big Dig, the city probably isn’t ready for more big-digging.
February 29, 2008
I think I just discovered a secret on my way home from work, and I don’t mean the free firewood I snagged curbside this afternoon.
As I cross the Kernwood Bridge from Rialside (I can’t for the life of me figure out if it’s “i” or “y” — it shows up both ways) into Salem, I pass the country club and cut between the golf course and the cemetery…and end up in a neighborhood that’s secluded, architecturally distinct, close to the water, and affordable! It’s tucked away, but convenient to both Salem and the highway (about 10 minutes from 128 at the morning rush) — you just have to see it.
Check out these houses to get an idea of the location — there’s a fair number on sale over there, and the prices look really low for the quality of the neighborhood. Graveyards are greenspace, and golf courses are too — you won’t find much that’s this open & green AND close to the action!
2 Beachmont Rd, Salem — $259,900
14 Bay View Circle has BAY VIEWS and 4 bedrooms for $495,000!
61 Dearborn St oozes New England charm — $450K
26 Upham St. is SOOOOO pretty for $387k
February 29, 2008
O hai, everybody!
Big LOLs to Ben Bernanke’s recent comments on the state of the economy. Even after foreclosures and record oil prices have left the nation utterly pwnt, and now that fiscally irresponsible maneuvers are being fobbed off as a solutions, the fed chief still says there’s no risk of stagflation if interest rates are lowered further. O RLY? The current exchange rate sure doesn’t seem to think so.
So what to do with your dollars to keep them from becoming cents? Traditionally you’d invest in a commodity like oil or gold, but obvs - people have already done that, leading to similar, if less severe, inflation. Yet one the price of one hedge against inflation is lower than it’s been in sometime: real estate.
You might still be wondering if the housing market is safe yet, and frankly you’d be a fool not to. But combine the current, nonsensically low interest rates with the dearth of credit-qualified buyers, and add that to the historically low prices: it’s a buyers’ market like you’re unlikely to see ever again. This goes double if you’re a first time homebuyer, someone purchasing a second property, or any other consumer not looking to sell a home while buying a new one.
Now, this does depend on where you’re looking to buy. You might want to steer clear of Hendry Street (though I hear the mice there are delicious), or currently trendy locations, but traditionally desirable neighborhoods are unlikely to decline steeply, and their high-end improvements aren’t currently over-plumping sales prices.
The worst mistake right now is to assume you can’t afford it - plenty of properties in both Back Bay and Beacon Hill are available for less than 300k. Even if it’s in a basement, the convenient location and long-term desirability will retain value, either as a home, rental property, or investment (though I’d be more cautious with the third option). Here are a few more tender vittles to whet your appetite.
Kthanxbye.
-Econ Cat
February 29, 2008
I have lived in Brighton for the last 10 years, and I still don’t know where I am. Is it Allston? Is it Brighton? Or is it Allston-Brighton?
I went to the City of Boston neighborhoods page in hopes of finally settling the matter. First, I noticed that the city does distinctly separate the Allston and Brighton neighborhoods. Allston was described as a “radiant” neighborhood best known for its student population. (I already knew that.) The nexus of Allston was described as Harvard Avenue, Commonwealth Avenue and Brighton Avenue — otherwise known as Allston Village. I kinda knew that already, too. So that basically makes Allston east Brighton. Then I checked out what the City of Boston had to say about Brighton. They described it as a place of “multi-family homes and condominiums.” They mentioned Washington Street, Brighton Center and Oak Square as the center of what you would call “Brighton.” So that basically makes Brighton the western half of Allston.
I would like to posit, however, that the difference between Allston and Brighton may not consist so much of physical boundaries as simply a state of mind. If you’re tossing beer cans into the bushes on Saturday night, you live in Allston. If you’re sweeping up the beer cans the next day, you live in Brighton.
Other interesting facts about Allston, according to epodunk.com:
Over the years, Allston has been known as Brighton, Cambridge and Little Cambridge.
Allston was actually part of Cambridge until the 19th century. Then Cambridge decided it didn’t want it anymore. 
Prior to the American Revolution, Little Cambridge was a small agricultural community of only about 300 people.
At the beginning of the 19th century Cambridge wasn’t much into providing infrastructure for Little Cambridge’s booming cattle business. (That’s where the Stockyard restaurant got its name from, by the way). So Allston and Brighton seceded from Cambridge and became the town of Brighton.
In 1874, Brighton was annexed by Boston.
Today, 47 percent of Brighton residents drive alone to work and 36 percent use mass transit, compared with 71 percent and 15 percent respectively for the U.S. as a whole. (Hey, Allston-Brighton is a progressive place!)
If you live in Allston-Brighton, you may still not know exactly where you live (there are a lot of fuzzy boundaries) but at least you’ve learned a little history.
Here are three places on the market that are DEFINITELY in Allston:
54 Gordon Street, $670K
10 Parkvale Ave, No.4, $349,700
15 Parkvale Ave, No.8, $329K
February 28, 2008
If there’s one location in Salem to watch right now, it’s the Derby Wharf area. People who know the area judge an up-and-coming property’s potential by its proximity to the wharf; and there’s a reason.
Derby Wharf is what tourists fall in love with when they see Salem. The cheezy mixes with the authentic; in season, there’s tons of car and foot traffic and a carnival atmosphere. Out of season, you can walk to some great cafes and watering holes. And, for the most part, real local businesses. If you want chains, go live in Danvers.
This, then, is a shameless plug for 2 of our favorite places within walking distance of the Wharf. One is The Old Spot, where I suggest the Ploughman’s Lunch and the Green Green Salad, and the other is Cornerstone Books, a real live independent bookstore that hasn’t been stamped out by chains.
Derby Wharf is worth a sunny Saturday, anyway; for a complete look at what’s on the market there, plug “Derby St., Salem, MA” into the Redfin search bar and work away from the water. If you work out into the water, the view is great, but it’s so cold….
Here are a couple of choice picks from the neighborhood.
10 Hawthorne Blvd #1
Salem, MA 01970
Price: $175,000
15 Lynde St #31
Salem, MA 01970
Price: $112,900
7 Hamilton St #4
Salem, MA 01970
Price: $349,000
February 27, 2008
I go and write about redevelopment and what happens? Some dude comes in and starts talking about bringing the quaint back to Cambridge Street. I’m all for neighborhood preservation, but this artifical restoration grates against my sense of history.
The south side of Cambridge Street ain’t been cute since they widened it to four lanes in 1926 (see right). Doesn’t Boston have enough ridiculous buildings without 30 more that look just like the Charles Street 7-Eleven?
It’s not like current Cambridge Street addresses aren’t elegant - here’s a million-dollar pad just around the corner on Bowdoin Street, and that is supposed to be the young and irreverent part of the neighborhood.
At any rate, most of Cambridge Street looks just like Beacon Hill; the stretch from Joy to Bowdoin, and a solitary gas station are the only bits that even approach eyesore. And it’s not like the rest of the neighborhood’s adherence to architecture is unblemished, either.
But lest you think “made land” is any less prone to this sort of thing, a classic expressway revolt is brewing over two proposed tower complexes in Back Bay. Since the neighborhood has more organizational factions than an Italian election, this battle is going to take a while to fight out. Whatever the outcome, this penthouse will be a fantastic location from which to watch the sparks fly.
Image: Widening Cambridge Street, 1926. Authorship and copyright unclear; original source here. Author takes sole responsibility for the use of this image; contact this address with any concerns.
February 27, 2008
In case you missed it (and it’s doubtful that you did), the news is bad.
According to a report in yesterday’s Boston Globe, sales of single-family homes in Massachusetts in January 2008 plummeted 28.3 percent when compared to January 2007. The median price for a single-family home also dropped 4.4 percent. Meanwhile, Massachusetts condo sales fell 36.2 percent on a year-to-year basis. (Prices for condos dropped 1.5 percent.) The data comes from the Warren Group, a Boston company that tracks New England real estate.
Here’s something, though, that has me stumped. I have a friend who is a realtor (not in Brookline or Brighton but in downtown Boston). She tells me that her office is DESPERATE for listings! That’s right, they’ve got plenty of buyers, but not so many people looking to sell. (And who would want to sell with a constant barrage of bad news in this market?) Of course, all real estate is local. It’s different in other neighborhoods of the city. I counted well over 900 homes on the market in Dorchester this month. That’s a lot. Brookline and Brighton, for whatever reasons, seem to have many fewer houses and condos on the market than what I can recall of last year this time. (There must be a realtor out there who can give me some data on this.)
Anyway, though Brookline and Brighton aren’t hurting like Dorchester, they’re probably not doing quite as well as downtown Boston either. All in all, though I think Brookline and Brighton are likely to fare better than many other areas for a couple of reasons. For one thing, foreclosed homes and the whole subprime loan mess is less of a factor here than it might be in other neighborhoods. And secondly, because of the area’s location, there is a constant supply of professionals and students willing to rent a house that might otherwise go on the market, only to languish there for months on end. So basically, homeowners in these neighborhoods have options other than rushing to sell in a down market. That being said, there are properties out there that aren’t moving quickly. Here are a few new price reductions this week:
7 Regent Circle, Apt. 3, reduced from $449,900 to $439K. At 940 square feet, it’s not a lot of space for the price.
2400 Beacon Street, Apt. 405, reduced from $679K to $669K. The developers are probably trying to move these condos in a slow market, so there may be even more negotiating room.
163-165 Chestnut Hill Ave, Apt. 304, reduced from $449,900 to $444,900. My guess is that luxury condos in this price range are a harder sell in Brighton since it’s more or less the same price of a condo of the same square footage in Brookline.
16 Peaceable Street, Apt. 4, reduced from $297K to $295K. (Don’t you just hate these tiny incremental price reductions? Personally, if I’m having doubts, $2,000 isn’t going to sway me.)
Image: freedigitalphotos.net
February 25, 2008
These are “round robin” auction properties, but that doesn’t mean anyone else is looking at them. Someone’s going to get an incredible bargain…or two!
24 Giles Avenue in Beverly is up for auction — 2 car garage, 1500+ sq. ft., starting at $99,000! Worth a look — the house is worth, at bare minimum, twice that. $99 per square foot!
22 Giles Avenue is only $66 per square foot! No kidding, look at the links — these are really great looking houses in a wonderful neighborhood. You won’t find deals like this in June — get off your duff and buy a house!
Compare that to a condo on the same street — here’s 13 Giles Ave. #1 — at $319 a foot!
February 25, 2008
A good number of people claim to live in Boston’s West End. Do not be fooled: outside of 42 Lomasney Way (pictured at right), there is no “West End,” just a disparate collection of concrete condos placed pell-mell a mishmash of cul-du-sacs, parking lots, chain-link fences, and manufactured green space, all capped at its northernmost end with the bitterly ironic phrase “the greatest neighborhood this side of heaven.”
There are doubtlessly some who enjoy this sort of lifestyle, living in a place cut off from the nearest T-stops and gorgeous waterfront parks by two of the city’s biggest and most traffic-choked thoroughfares: Storrow Drive and the Leverett Connector. A place so top-heavy with residential zoning that there isn’t even a Dunkin’ Donuts - just a Mapquest listing error. A place for people who want to live in downtown Boston, without actually interacting or dealing with anyone, like the Nutches of Dr. Seuss fame.
Of course, there was once a real West End, but it was torn down as a “slum” in a fit of self-righteous fury in the 1950s. Back then, the thinking was that no one wanted to live in a neighborhood - just high rises and suburbs. But now the situation has been completely reversed, and it’s the city that’s bleeding out the suburbs. Thankfully, most of Boston’s proposed renewal did not go through, and the city remains home to several centuries-old neighborhoods, each with a distinct flavor and feel.
This isn’t to say that the redevelopment specter is gone - Chinatown continues to be devoured by condo towers, and residents in Somerville are turning to whatever measures they can to deflect local over-development. Fortunately, the historic character and powerful neighborhood associations of Beacon Hill and the Back Bay should keep these places in their present conformation for the foreseeable future.
So whether you crave penthouse luxury, find yourself on more of a shoestring, or land somewhere in between, in terms of smart design, continued stability, and the sensation of living in an actual neighborhood, it’s tough to beat out either of Boston’s gas-lit locales.
Image: 42 Lomansky Way. Public domain, original image by Wikipedia user Sbacle.
February 25, 2008
So the state legislature and governor have finally decided to sell the reservoir site on Fisher Hill. That means another park for Brookline. Hooray! Brookline does a great job at providing its residents with green spaces, parks, or, more minimally, a square with a bench. The new park will offer walking trails and an athletic field. It’s not a huge space by any measure — about the size of Amory Park. But any patch of green space adds immeasurably to the quality of life of residents who can take the kids for a stroll, the dog for a walk, or simply commune with a bit of nature when city life gets a little rough.
That got me to wondering about properties out there that are adjacent to parks. Now in Brookline, you’re never too far from any park. I live in Brighton, believe it or not, and STILL have at least three Brookline parks within easy walking distance to my pad. If I’m willing to walk just a little bit further, I can count at least six more. Not bad for living in the heart of the city.
If you’ve got some money to spend, you might check out this $1.3 million baby across the street from the Jean B. Waldstein Playground, better known as “Dean Road” park among dogpark aficionados. If that seems too pricey, check out this slighltly more modest Victorian condo across from the Cypress Street Playground. Five bedrooms and almost 2,000 square feet of space give it the feeling of a single family house. Overlooking Emerson Park is another Victorian condo, this time 3 bedrooms. It boasts a covered balcony overlooking the park so you don’t even have to leave home to enjoy your greenery! Smack between Parsons Field and Brookline Avenue Playground is a 7 bedroom Victorian home that costs a pretty penny but offers something a lot of other older homes don’t — modern systems and amenities that have been thoughtfully redesigned. Also next door to Parsons field, but decidedly more modest is a two-bedroom condo of just 623 square feet. Across from Knyvet Square, a 429 square foot studio boasts lots of sunlight and a park view. A block from Longwood Square, a beautiful single-family three bedroom costs a small fortune (or a not so small fortune). It’s got such a nice backyard that chances are, you won’t need much more in terms of green space. Across from Downes Field, a three-bedroom, 1,190 square foot condo that is also near Olmstead Park and Jamaica Pond gives you a choice of three nearby green spaces. In fact, I found SO many houses within a block or two of a park in Brookline – near Warren Field, Reservoir Park, Larz Anderson Park and Dane Park, to name a few— that I finally quit counting. Rest assured that wherever you choose to live in Brookline, chances are that you’ll have a park somewhere close by.
Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/
