Every Thursday, Curbed Comparisons breaks down what you can get at the same price point in five different Hub neighborhoods. This week: $550,000.
We start in South Boston at 141 Dorchester Avenue, a tower developed in 2006 as one of the Hub's first LEED Gold apartment buildings (that means it's very, very environmentally friendly). For $550K even, you get 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom and 1,016 square feet. There's a chef's kitchen; an in-unit W/D; and the bedroom has two closets. The tower itself has 24-hour concierge. This particular spread traded for $499,900 in May 2007.
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Now on to a 2-BR, 2-BA, 1,211-square-foot condo at 1200 Washington Street in the Hub's No. 1 neighborhood (the South End, duh) that's been gut-renovated recently. There's a private deck out back; W/D in-unit; a full-body shower in the master bath; and, interestingly enough, because of built-in wiring a place for the flat-screen above the mantel. Listed at $550K, it has had tenants in the last couple of years, though would be delivered empty.
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Across town in West Roxbury, we find for $100 under $550K an epically charming Victorian at 275 Bellevue Street with 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and 1,876 square feet. As spacious as you would think, with 9-foot ceilings throughout and lots of natural light, it opens onto a patio and a private yard. And the bedroom on the third floor, with its own bath, is touted in the listing as an "ideal teen suite" (kids today). It last traded in August 2004 for $620,100.
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And we hop the Charles to this 4-BR, 2-BA, 1,443-square-foot Cambridge house at 7 Gladstone Street that's been in the same family for 55 years and that passed the century mark 10 years ago. It's asking $549,000 for what is obviously a handyman's delight by the listing. The house "needs work," though you would be buying some serious potential given the space and the yardage (almost one-tenth of an acre). It last traded (within the family) for $440,000 in December 2011.
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Finally, we end back in Boston but on the same bank of the Charles. This 2-BR, 2-BA, 1,227-square-foot condo at 84 Washington Street in a Charlestown building dating from the 1860s is asking $549,000. It's got high ceilings and an open floor plan, and a working fireplace in the living room. Not charming enough for you? Step aside: It's in the part of the Town lit by gaslight.
* or thereabouts