Here is the latest installment of Bates By the Numbers, a weekly feature by broker David Bates that drills down into the Hub's housing market to uncover those trends you would not otherwise see. This week, he deep-dives into the Somerville condo market. (Last week, he analyzed extreme re-sales in Back Bay.)
3,277 Somerville condo sales from 2005 through 2012, according to the MLS.
2,311 (71 percent) were between 600 and 1,400 square feet.
2,293 (70 percent) had at least one parking space (rented, deeded, assigned, etc.) and 785 (24 percent) had garage parking.
1,786 (55 percent) were two-bedrooms and 713 (22 percent) were three-bedrooms.
1,587 (48 percent) had "granite" in the MLS remarks section; 1,005 (31 percent) referred to a "deck"; and 446 (14 percent) touted "view."
1,421 (43 percent) had at least two baths.
460 Somerville condos sold in 2012, according to the MLS, up from 352 in 2011. Only 301 Somerville condos sold in 2003 (at a median price of $337K).
426 (13 percent) Somerville condos that sold from 2005 through 2012 were built after 2002.
$385,000 was the median sales price for Somerville condos in 2012, up from $365,500 in 2011.
$355 was the median price per square foot paid for a Somerville condo in 2012; and $701 was the highest price paid per square foot for a Somerville condo in 2012 (20 Howard Street, #4).
63 was the average number of days it took a Somerville condo to find a buyer in 2012, down from 89 in 2011.
53 Somerville condos were on the market on Feb. 24, 2013, down from 96 on Feb. 24, 2012.
13 available listings were in the MLS for Somerville condos priced below $500,000 on Feb. 24, 2013. One year ago, Feb. 24, 2012, 75 Somerville condos listed for under $500K were being actively marketed.
5 Somerville condos sold for more than $1 million from 2005 through 2012.
2 perspectives of Somerville were shared on the popular WTF podcast. Marc Maron, journeyman comedian and host, reflected on his tenant days in Somerville, saying, "I thought I was living in a cancerous lung. I just remember cigarette smoking everywhere. It was the first time I came in contact with the Dunkin Donuts big one? and I had to have it." Guest, singer Aimee Mann, a Berklee grad who is best-known for the hit "Voices Carry," described today's Somerville as "happening."
1.64 months is the amount of time it would take buyers at the current sales pace to purchase the entire available inventory of Somerville condos, which means it's a wicked hot seller's market.
$1,525,000 is the highest assessed value for a Somerville condo (1 Summer Street, #7)
$1, 200,000 is the highest MLS-recorded sales price for a Somerville condo (29 Day Street near Davis Square).
· Our Bates By the Numbers archive [Curbed Boston]