At least when it comes to asking prices. The latest Warren Group numbers for Massachusetts show that the median condo sales price in April was $280,000, after a mild annual rise, while the median for a single-family was $275,000. That made us think (as did this Scott Van Voorhis item), so we went looking for real-life evidence of a shift in prices for condos vs. single-families in Boston proper. Were condos (read: apartments) equal to housing now? The answer's yup, and it's probably a recent phenom. The longer answer's in the examples:
The most expensive condo listed in the last 90 days in Boston, according to Zillow is a 4-BR, 5.5-BA, 2,896-square-foot unit at 250 Boylston Street. It's asking $5,500,000. Take a look at it above.
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The most expensive single-family listed in the last 90 days in Boston is the 4-BR, 6-BA, 5,100-square-foot townhouse at 6 Otis Place that we drooled over last month. It's on the other side of the Common, about a half-mile away from 250 Boylston, and it's asking $5,800,000. Go head, have a gander.
Now, what jars us a bit are two things. First, the price per square foot is much higher for the condo ($1,889.17) than for the single-family ($1,137.25). Second, the condo sold for $3,775,000 in May 2006, the single-family for $5,000,000 in August 2007. See what we're getting at? We'll leave the comments thread open below. Our own theories include City Centers Are the New Suburbs and transit-oriented development is the wave of the Hub's future. There's also the full-service-building part and the allure, right?
· Condos Now Tops in Price [Boston.com]
· The Otis Place Six-Story Crying Out for a Simplifying Touch [Curbed Boston]
· One Word: Transit-Oriented—JP's Jackson Square Is the Future [Curbed Boston]