Five hundred thousand dollars would be a magic price point in just about any major American housing market. Except Boston, where it's not even middle of the road for much of the city. Here it gets a prospective buyer kind of into the condo game, beyond the bare necessities of shelter and into solid units with bona fide parking spaces. But it only gets you so far—$500,000, as we discovered in this latest round of Curbed Comparisons, stretches the furthest in farther-out neighborhoods. Still, the options, especially if a buyer is just starting out or looking to buy for the first time, are more than worth considering (and who the heck says Southie isn't Back Bay's equal?). Let's start in South Boston, in fact, with Unit 2 at 90 Emerson Street. It's a 703-square-foot 2-BR, 2-BA (snug!) asking $499,000 and coming with one deeded parking space and a low, low association fee of $175.
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Unit 2 at 56 Stella Road in the Roslindale-JP borderlands is a 3-BR, 2-BA duplex spread over 1,903 square feet. It comes with a $200 association fee and off-street parking. Its tag? $499,000.
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Over in Eastie, Unit 4 at 172 Cottage Street comes with two bedrooms, one bathroom, 904 square feet, a parking spot, a W/D, and an association fee of $239. It's asking $499,000.
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Unit 1 at 534 Massachusetts Avenue in the South End also comes with a W/D, but no parking. Still, it's a rather spacious 1-BR, 1-BA: 855 square feet. Its association fee is a low, low $110 and its asking price is $499,000.
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We end in Southie, too, at Unit 2 in 631 East Third Street, a 3-BR, 1-BA, 872-square-footer with no parking. Its association fee is $150 and its price tag is $499K.
· Downtown Boston's Median Condo Price: What It Buys Now [Curbed Boston]
· Our Curbed Comparisons archive [Curbed Boston]