Boston Buyers Agency

is an alignment with truth.

The only real truth is established by statistical fact.

That is why I roll out the stats and the graphs the stats create.

I don’t expect buyers to accept what I think
much less what the seller thinks.

Here is what has happened to Condos in Boston
in the last 4 months of the last 9 years

There have been so many influences on the price of Boston Condos I thought I would take a look at how we have done in Boston Condos from September to December for the last 9 years. Since 5 out of 6 homes in Boston are Condos, Boston Condos are in my numbers. To make for manageable numbers I took a slice like this: Property Type: Condos,  Status: Under Agreement, Sold,  Time-frame: 9/1/01-12/31/01  to  9/1/09-12/31/09, Price: Between $450,000 and $600,000,  Towns: The entire city of  Boston, MA

Number of Boston Condos Sold Sept 1st to Dec 31st 2001 to 2009
This metric is of little interest to buyers and really has nothing to do with the price of tea in China or the fair market value of properties. The number of Boston Condos sold has been in a steady decline over the last 9 years. This is more interesting to real estate people who can mull over the possible significance if any.

Boston Condos Average Sales Price Sept 1st to Dec 31st, 2001 to 2009
No surprise here. The facts in graphic form tell us that Boston Condos over the entire city have held there value steadily in these last 4 months of the year. The $10,000 reduction in average price in 2004 is statistically insignificant. I think so, do you?

Boston Condos Ave Price Per Sq Ft  Sept 1st to Dec 31st, 2001 to 2009
One of the favorite sayings in the markets is “The trend is your friend…until it ends”. I drew these trend-lines because once a commodity like Boston Condos is in a trend, it tends to stay there unless something drastic occurs to knock it out.

Buyers Agency = Buyers Advocacy

The two come in the same breath for me. Every client is Aunt Mary or Uncle Herb. Practiced in its purest sense, Buyers Agency/Buyer Advocacy is completely different from Sellers Agency. With the former the agent is trying to protect someone by helping them buy their Boston Home with eyes wide open. In the later the agent is trying to sell something after carefully editing the salient features of the property and under-exposing the less appealing aspects of the home. The Sellers Agent and the seller sit down and decide what to reveal and what to hide. There is always something to downplay and something to boost. This is the part of the real estate business that gives me the yips. I guess that’s the reason I feel fully self expressed as a Buyers Agent.

Buyers, Be Represented, Not Sold

Written By RE/MAX Destiny Accredited Buyers Agent Jeff Persons   617-512-3443

More articles by Jeff:

A Boston Buyers Agent Says Skip the Spring Market, Wait Until Autumn

How to Get the Lowest Prices on Real Estate by Buying in the Winter

Forget The Boston Real Estate Market, Buy The Boston Home You Can Live With

A 20 Year Resident of Bostons Back Bay Tells Why He Likes Brookline MA So Much

Buy Boston Homes, Boston Condos On Weakness

Return To WeSellBoston.Net

What do you think? Your comments will be appreciated

Boston Condo Sales, Sept to Dec 2001-2009

I find that the best way to get a grip on where Boston Real Estate in general and specifically Boston Condos have have been going in the past decade is to pull some numbers and graph them out in Excel. Since 5 out of 6 Boston Homes are condos, I think I get the most telling numbers from using a slice of the market something like the following:

Property Type(s): CC Status: UAG, SLD  Time Frame: 1/1/00 – 8/1/00  TO  1/1/10 – 8/1/10
Price: Between $450,000 and $600,000  Towns: Boston, MA  Advanced Criteria:  Living Area=700-2500. All Boston neighborhoods included.

Using these numbers I can pull up graphs that shed some light that will hopefully offset the incredible hysteria I see going by on my Google Alerts. Story after story about the alarming slowdown in the housing industry! I think they are reaching for news because August is a slow month for everything including news AND real estate or they are talking about places other than Boston.

Here in Boston there is a noticeable lack of hysterics.

Its almost like Boston is on a different planet or part of a marketplace that is VERY separate from the rest of the real estate in the United States. I see nothing to get crazy about. Every August a slowdown happens in the Real Estate Market as well as the Stock Market.

According to the graphics below Boston Condos
are having one of its best years ever!

Here are just a few of today’s Headlines:

San Diego Real Estate Market Double Dip
Home loans sink to a nine-year low
Recovery Is Not Where We Thought It Would Be
Pain Continues in Housing Market – CBS MoneyWatch.com
Housing Market Takes Another Step Backwards – US News and World Report

Boston’s Real Estate sounds very strong compared
to the rest of the country

Lets start with
Total Boston Condos Sold 1/1/00 – 8/1/00  TO  1/1/10 – 8/1/10

Next, lets look at Average Sales Price 1/1/00 – 8/1/00  TO  1/1/10 – 8/1/10

And Finally Boston Condos Average Price Per Sq Ft

So, there is Boston Real Estate and then there is the rest of the US. Its a bit difficult to respond to Out-Of-Towners after they have read all these stories like the list above. When they arrive in Boston, you can talk about how healthy the Boston Real Estate market is until you are blue in the face and they don’t even hear you never mind believe you. I’ve gone over this with buyer after buyer and yet they come in 20% lower than asking. This after I have determined with quantitative analysis that the asking price is appropriate. I may even show them some graphs like those above but buyers are often indoctrinated by all those articles and they get it into their heads that real estate is being discounted everywhere. If on their next offer they are not within 10% below asking, I’m likely to go find a buyer who will have an open mind to the statistical facts. Buyers Agency more than anything else is an alignment with truth.

Written By RE/MAX Destiny Accredited Buyers Agent Jeff Persons

Related Posts From Jeff:

Buying Boston Condos, Stay Away From FSBOs
Boston Condos, Would You Let Your Daughter Live There?
5 Clues That Your Boston Real Estate Buyers Agent is a Sellers Agent in a Brilliant Disguise.
Boston Condos Stay Expensive Despite Lower Demand
The Boston Real Estate Market Has NOT Experienced a Recession

Contact Jeff

Today’s Mortgage Rates

Return To WeSellBoston.Net

Boston Condo Sales, January to August for 11 Years

Low Quality Property Management is Responsible For High Condo Fees

Five out of six Boston Homes are condos, with condo fees. You don’t have to be a trustee to pay attention to who your condominium association is using and its minding your own business to pay attention. They are spending your condo fees, often driving them up by poor decision making. This can of course make your unit harder to sell thus reducing the value of your investment.

The Wrong Property Management Company Can Bankrupt A Condominuium Association

I’ve written about this subject on this blog before in my article Dont Just Investigate Your Boston Condo, Investigate The Management Company Too. The thing with property management companies is that there are good ones and bad ones with every level of aggravation and expense in between.

Its Hard To Sell A Unit That Has a High Condo Fee

Once the association has been mismanaged for a number of years you will see the condo fees start to creep up. Every poor decision adds up and next thing you know the management company wants more money. The management company may have vended out that plumbing project to a cousin for $9000 when they could have gotten it done for $4000. It has been my experience that property management companies don’t care about your condo fee, they care about their profit margins.

Condo Fees Are A Critical  Cost of Ownership Issue

When I was a trustee of our building on Marlborough Street, it was my job to find a new property management company when we found out about corruption at our then current management company. I interviewed 6 property management companies. We analysed all 6 and chose one. Although I did my due dilligence the property management company we chose could systematically bleed the condo association dry. They have to be watched very carefully by the trustees and line by line audited to make sure they are not overspending.

Along Comes A New Better Property Management Company

How do I know they will be better? Because I have been working with RE/MAX Destiny for 7 years. I trust these people. If you are an owner or a trustee of an association that is looking for a better property management company, I think you should at least include them in your interview process. Please note that I have not recieved any payment or considerations from RE/MAX Destiny Property Management Company. They are a new company so I can’t point to a track record, I am recommending them on the strength of the strong character of their management team. I am convinced that once they reach a certain number of buildings, they will be turning others away. This is their intention because they are aware that taking too many buildings out of greed has been the downfall of many property management companies.

I Would Recommend Speaking With RE/MAX Destiny Property Management

907 Massachusett Avenue
Cambridge MA 02139
Phone: 617.715.9290
E-mail: support@destinycommercial.com

Web:  http://www.destinypmgmt.com/

Written By RE/MAX Destiny Accredited Buyers Agent Jeff Persons 617.512.3443

More articles by Jeff:
The Best Time to Buy Boston Real Estate in 2010
Buying Boston Condos, Stay Away From FSBOs
A Buyers Agent List of 5 Mission Critical Items to Check Before Buying a Condo
Forget The Boston Real Estate Market, Buy The Boston Home You Can Live With
5 Clues That Your Boston Real Estate Buyers Agent is a Sellers Agent in a Brilliant Disguise.

Today’s Mortgage Rates

Contact Jeff

Return To WeSellBoston.Net

What do you think? Your comments will be appreciated

Boston Condo Owners, Time For A New Management Company?

What You Can Lose

Working with FSBOs ( For Sale By Owner) may be OK in Phoenix or Arkansas or Atlanta but here in Boston you are really asking for trouble if you work with a FSBO.

Of course we can understand why someone would want to sell their own home. Sometimes it means the seller can walk out of the closing without owing any money. No seller wants to write a check to the bank at a closing. Although this is great for the seller, for us its buyer beware on steroids. There are things that can go wrong without a Sellers Agent and a Buyers Agent involved.

The first thing that comes to mind is that often a seller will go FSBO, not just to save money but also to HIDE shortcomings with the property that if he told the listing agent, the listing agent would have to tell everyone and the seller knows this. Full disclosure is practiced by all real estate agents who want to keep their license. The Sellers Agent  has his license at risk. So right out of the gate in a cooperative fashion you are helping the seller save money but you are sacrificing one of your protections. Even if the seller tries to hide the defect, most Sellers Agents will figure it out and that’s just embarrassing! So if he changes his mind and wants a Sellers Agent that defect he was hoping you wouldn’t see is disclosed right up front.

The second point is that if the seller is too stingy to pay the 5 percent for a Sellers Agent, that leaves you unrepresented because 2.5 percent of that is supposed to pay for your Buyers Agent. So now you are thinking about how to eliminate the Buyers Agent and there is exponentially greater potential for serious problems.

For Sale By Owner is more feasible but NEVER advisable in other locations around the country because the properties themselves are simpler, newer and the money they can cost you in your first 5 years of ownership is less. Four out of five available properties in Boston are condos. These condos were carved out of 1880s brownstones and no two are alike. So the buildings are 130 to 160 years old in Back Bay, Beacon Hill, South End, The Fenway as well as Brookline MA. A lot can go wrong with these buildings, which creates more risk here in Boston. There are so many places to hide defects that no one will catch them all.

Years Ago, I bought a condo on Commonwealth Ave. Six months later I got a  bill for $8,000  for a new roof in my mail box. Next they wanted $16,000 for new elevators, this all in my first 2 years of owning the home. I was in a different business then and I didn’t know anything about real estate. I worked directly with the listing agent and really shot myself in the foot with that place. If I had had a Buyers Agent, he would have investigated for me. I was so naive, not knowing how much money I could lose.

Your home inspector will find out what to him are obvious defects and that’s a great help. But even he can’t see through walls like Superman. Also you will want a good real estate lawyer experienced in inner city condos. She will read the 3 inch stack of condominium documents that have accumulated on the condo since as far back as 1958. Its great and absolutely necessary to have these professionals but they are not enough. Without representation by a Buyers Agent, no one is watching your back.

The FSBO Saves Money, You Get Screwed!

If you deal with a FSBO, you are expected to take what the seller tells you as bible. Now how rigorous is that supposed to be? And don’t let the FSBO seller tell you they will charge you less because they don’t have to pay the 5% because that’s just not true. Any money he saves will go directly into his pocket while he blows sunshine you know where. With a little fuzzy math he will try to convince you of the savings. The reality is you will pay the same money as everyone else, except everyone else will have representation!

Another Example

Once I agreed to show a FSBO because my buyer wanted to see it and after a phone call to the FSBO, found out that the seller would pay me the 2.5 percent fee for my Buyers Agency. The unit looked great and the numbers worked in terms of fair market value. I was a little curious about the real estate across the street as it seemed to have fallen into disuse. After a little digging I found out that they were talking about a new 6 story building there.

For My Buyer It Would Have Meant Two or Three years of Construction Going on Right Across The Street

Legally the FSBO didn’t have to tell us that because the plans were not final yet and he didn’t tell us. We had to find out for ourselves. I saved my buyer from living at a construction site for years to come. What would have happened if my buyer hadn’t had me there? If the FSBO wised up and got a Sellers Agent, the Sellers Agent would be telling everyone about the proposed construction as they walked through the door and expressed any interest. The FSBO knew he would, that’s one more reason to not hire the Sellers Agent.

My advice is if you see a FSBO, cross to the other side of the street and walk the other way. He is out to save money at your expense and your anguish!  There should be a Buyers Agent and a Sellers Agent involved in every real estate transaction.

Written by RE/MAX Destiny Accredited Buyers Agent Jeff Persons

More articles by Jeff:

The Best Time to Buy Boston Real Estate in 2010

Back Bay Boston Condos Prices Double From 2000-2010

Boston Condos, Would You Let Your Daughter Live There?

A Buyers Agent List of 5 Mission Critical Items to Check Before Buying a Condo

How To Establish Fair Market Value For Boston Suburb Homes

Contact Jeff

Today’s Mortgage Rates

Return To WeSellBoston.Net

What do you think? Your comments will be appreciated

Buying Boston Condos, Stay Away From FSBOs

Boston Condos Number of Sales and Sales Prices
First Half – 2000 to 2010

The above graph illustrates how Boston Condos sales go against the grain and stay priced strong even if demand slows down. These stats were comprised using Back Bay, Beacon Hill, South End and Fenway. Notice 2009 where there were only 214 units sold without a lowering of prices.

My opinion is that it would take several years like 2009 for the lack of demand to negatively impact prices to the downside in any significant way.

So my advice without the crystal ball has to be:
If you are waiting for lower prices for Boston Condos, I wish you patience.

Here are the statistics

2010 First half Boston condos sales prices
The average Boston condo sales price – $592,168
377 Sold, average price per square foot: $629

2009 First half Boston condos sales prices
The average Boston condo sales price – $591,289
214 Sold, average price per square foot: $627

2008 First half Boston condos sales prices
The average Boston condo sales price – $592,108
378 Sold, average price per square foot: $492

2007 First half Boston condos sales prices
The average Boston condo sales price – $593,875
368 Sold, average price per square foot: $610

2006 First half Boston condos sales prices
The average Boston condo sales price – $579,413
314 Sold, average list price per square foot: $609

2005 First half Boston condos sales prices
The average Boston condo sales price – $577,597
345 Sold, average price per square foot: $598

2004 First half Boston condos sales prices
The average Boston condo sales price – $573,830
245 Sold, average price per square foot: $545

2003 First half Boston condos sales prices
The average Boston condo sales price – $557,354
156 Sold, average price per square foot: $523

2002 First half Boston condos sales prices
The average Boston condo sales price – $572,042
114 Sold, average price per square foot: $529

2001 First half Boston condos sales prices
The average Boston condo sales price – $555,120
54 Sold, average price per square foot: $493

2000 First half Boston condos sales prices
The average Boston condo sales price – $556,631
35 Sold, average price per square foot: $436

For the sake of manageable numbers I used: Property Type(s): CC , Status: UAG, SLD , Timeframe: 1/1/00 – 7/1/00 Price: Between $400,000 and $900,000,  Towns: Boston:Back Bay, MA; Boston:Beacon Hill, MA; Boston:South End, MA; Boston:The Fenway, MA

Written By RE/MAX Destiny Accredited Buyers Agent Jeff Persons

More articles by Jeff:

Dont Just Investigate Your Boston Condo, Investigate The Management Company Too

The Boston Real Estate Market Has NOT Experienced a Recession

5 Smartest Protections For Buying Boston Area Homes

It Doesn’t Surprise Me That Boston Real Estate Prices Are Holding firm

The Best Time to Buy Boston Real Estate in 2010

Contact Jeff

Today’s Mortgage Rates

Return To WeSellBoston.Net

Boston Condos Prices Stay Expensive Despite Lower Demand

More Evidence That Boston Real Estate Is a Recession-Proof Investment

2nd Quarter Report 2000-2010

The Average Price Per Sq. Ft. For Back Bay Boston Condos
Has Doubled From 2000-2010

Average Boston Back Bay Condos Price Per Square Foot

______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________

The Average Sales Price For Back Bay Boston Condos
Has More Than Doubled From 2000-2010

Average Boston Back Bay Condos Sales Price

There are some caveats of course. The new luxury units in Back Bay have had an disproportionate influence on these numbers. However these are nice looking graphic representations of a very healthy market.

Here are the statistics

2010 2nd Q all Back Bay Boston condos sales prices
The average Back Bay condo sales price – $1,279,425
Average List Price per Square Foot: $951

2009 2nd Q all Back Bay Boston condos sales prices
The average Back Bay condo sales price – $1,037,912
Average List Price per Square Foot: $884

2008 2nd Q all Back Bay Boston condos sales prices
The average Back Bay condo sales price – $1,005,114
Average List Price per Square Foot: $896

2007 2nd Q all Back Bay Boston condos sales prices
The average Back Bay condo sales price – $1,016,957
Average List Price per Square Foot: $830

2006 2nd Q all Back Bay Boston condos sales prices
The average Back Bay condo sales price – $783,899
Average List Price per Square Foot: $766

2005 2nd Q all Back Bay Boston condos sales prices
The average Back Bay condo sales price – $783,899
Average List Price per Square Foot: $741

2004 2nd Q all Back Bay Boston condos sales prices
The average Back Bay condo sales price – $758,101
Average List Price per Square Foot: $731

2003 2nd Q all Back Bay Boston condos sales prices
The average Back Bay condo sales price – $614,576
Average List Price per Square Foot: $626

2002 2nd Q all Back Bay Boston condos sales prices
The average Back Bay condo sales price – $664,093
Average List Price per Square Foot: $633

2001 2nd Q all Back Bay Boston condos sales prices
The average Back Bay condo sales price – $636,800
Average List Price per Square Foot: $590

2000 2nd Q all Back Bay Boston condos sales prices
The average Back Bay condo sales price – $530,250
Average List Price per Square Foot: $500

Written By RE/MAX Destiny Accredited Buyers Agent Jeff Persons – 617-512-3443

Jeff is a former stock trader and a student of the markets.

More articles by Jeff:

Recession Proof Boston Real Estate and the Megaphone Formation

5 Smartest Protections For Buying Boston Area Homes

Buying Boston Real Estate, The Pre-Approval Letter Must Come First

The Boston Real Estate Market Has NOT Experienced a Recession

5 Clues That Your Boston Real Estate Buyers Agent is a Sellers Agent in a Brilliant Disguise.

Contact Jeff

Today’s Mortgage Rates

Return To WeSellBoston.Net

Back Bay Boston Condos Prices Double From 2000-2010

]]> http://blog.wesellboston.net/boston-condos/back-bay-boston-condos-prices-double-from-2000-2010/feed/ 0 http://blog.wesellboston.net/boston-condos/boston-condos-sold-in-january-and-may-2002-to-2010-2/ http://blog.wesellboston.net/boston-condos/boston-condos-sold-in-january-and-may-2002-to-2010-2/#comments Sun, 06 Jun 2010 15:19:02 +0000 Jeff Persons http://blog.wesellboston.net/?p=2146

I like noodling around with MLS and Excel so I can get a graphic sense
of the Boston Real Estate Market.
I thought I’d take a look at these parameters from 2002 to 2010
Boston Condos sold in January and May for the last 8 years

For the sake of handling smaller numbers, I used the following parameters:

Property Type(s): Condos
Status: Under Agreement or Sold
Price: Between $300,000 and $600,000
Towns: Boston:Back Bay, Beacon Hill, MA, South End, The Fenway

So the next job for me would be to do the research that would tell us how many of the Boston Condos sold in May 2010 were inspired by the tax credits. If anyone cared. I don’t. I just thought this was a striking graphic for a slice of the Boston Real Estate market right in the middle of the spring market for the last 8 years. What do you think? Your comments would be appreciated.

On Another Note

I don’t need to tell regular readers of this blog that I was a stock trader for a number of years. I am finding that the Boston real estate market and the stock market have a lot in common. One popular saying on Wall Street is “However January goes, so goes the rest of the year” I know its just a saying and therefore lacks the rigor we get with statistical fact. But as usual there is some truth in most sayings like this so I pulled the graphic below  made with the same parameters above.

The saying certainly holds true for Boston Real Estate. Those in the business will see it clearly because they distinctly remember the real estate business in these years. Its so closely hinged to their income. For me 2004, 2005 and 2007 were the best years in my business. These had the best January sales. Neat huh?

Written by RE/MAX Destiny Accredited Buyers Agent Jeff Persons 617-512-3443

Contact Jeff

jpersons@wesellboston.net

More articles by Jeff Persons:
A Buyers Agent List of 5 Mission Critical Items to Check Before Buying a Condo
A 20 Year Resident of Bostons Back Bay Tells Why He Likes Brookline MA So Much
5 Clues That Your Boston Real Estate Buyers Agent is a Sellers Agent in a Brilliant Disguise.
A Boston Buyers Agent Says Skip the Spring Market, Wait Until Autumn
Dont Just Investigate Your Boston Condo, Investigate The Management Company Too

Return To WeSellBoston.Net

Boston Condos Sold in January and May 2002 to 2010

Boston Condos Average Price Per Square Foot

Here I have put in Graphic form what I outlined in my article:

“The Boston Real Estate Market Has NOT Experienced a Recession. ”
I like using the average price per sq. ft. as it gives me a true sense of relative prices.

Boston Condo Sales 1/1/07 – 5/15/07
Number of Boston condo sales – 364
Avg Boston condo sales price – $487,206
Average list price per square foot: $406

Boston Condo Sales 1/1/08 – 5/15/08
Number of Boston condo sales – 284
Avg Boston condo sales price – $368,250
Average list price per square foot: $350

Boston Condo Sales 1/1/09 – 5/15/09
Number of Boston condo sales – 180
Avg Boston condo sales price – $487,206
Average list price per square foot: $406

Boston Condo Sales 1/1/10 – 5/15/10
Number of Boston condo sales – 436
Avg Boston condo sales price – $489,365
Average list price per square foot: $372

Here are the parameters I used:

Property Type(s): CC
Status: UAG, SLD
Timeframe: 1/1/07 – 5/15/07  -  1/1/10-5/15/10
Price: Between $400,000 and $600,000
Towns: Boston, MA

I like making a graphic representation of these numbers so we can really get the feel for how tough this Boston Real Estate market is hanging in there.

Written by RE/MAX Destiny Accredited Buyers Agent Jeff Persons  617-512-3443

More articles by Jeff:

5 Worst Questions To Ask Your Buyers Agent

A Buyers Agent List of 5 Mission Critical Items to Check Before Buying a Condo

Boston Real Estate, A Recession Proof Investment

5 Clues That Your Boston Real Estate Buyers Agent is a Sellers Agent in a Brilliant Disguise.

A 20 Year Resident of Bostons Back Bay Tells Why He Likes Brookline MA So Much

Return To WeSellBoston.Net

Boston Condo Sales Four Year Price Per Square Foot Averages

When real estate buyers relocate to Boston every summer to find housing they want to BUY as opposed to renting, there are some typical stumbling blocks.

The Best Neighborhoods

One such difficulty is finding something affordable in the good neighborhoods. If parents and students know little about Boston, they tend to want to find a Boston home in the best neighborhoods. Once a buyer has been a Boston resident for a few years they get braver and feel comfortable in the more affordable areas, like Jamaica Plain, Mission Hill, Brighton, Allston and Dorchester. There may be 28 neighborhoods in Boston but for folks from out of town there are only 4, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, South End and The Fenway. Another alternative is Brookline which actually peninsulas down into the Fenway and Boston University areas.

The problem comes when the buyers don’t want to waste money on rent but cannot find anything affordable to buy in those areas. For instance, look for a 2 bedroom in Back Bay for under 500K. There are only 5 right now and there is something wrong with all 5. Last year at this time there were 10 available and there was something wrong with all 10 of those also.

If you are looking for a studio, there are 44 properties available under 300K but after you take out the garden units and the total junk, there may be 10 units left that are decent under 300K in BB, BH, SE and Fenway.

As a Realtor I am not supposed to say boo about safety and crime. The official stance of the Realtor is “Call the police for the crime stats”.

Well, I’m also a father and I CAN say “I would not allow my daughter to live here” without breaking any Realtor rules from the Real estate regulators.

So it gets pretty simple. I refuse to even show garden level units if they are intended for young women. If I ever put my daughter into one of those and an attack happened it would ruin her life as well as ruining mine. I would curse they day I tried to save money instead of buying her an upstairs unit. Now the police will probably tell you there has not been a sexual attach for years in those areas, don’t listen, get her up on the 2nd floor.

On the other hand, I just sold a 2 bedroom, 2 bath basement unit to twin 25 year old brothers who were both over 200 pounds and 6 feet tall. I have no problem with that. If I had a son I’d be OK with him living in a basement unit. I try not to genderize my decisions but in this case the risk is too great.

My buyers do not have to worry. I ask for a list of MLS numbers that interest them and by the time they come to town I have culled only the best from the list. By doing this we eliminate a lot of running around. If you are coming to Boston looking for student housing or any other type of housing, call me and I will guide you through safely, efficiently and we can even have an enjoyable time of it.

Written By RE/MAX Destiny Accredited Buyers Agent Jeff Persons – 617-512-3443

Your comments will be appreciated!

Additional articles by Jeff:
A 20 Year Resident of Bostons Back Bay Tells Why He Likes Brookline MA So Much
A Boston Buyers Agent Says Skip the Spring Market, Wait Until Autumn
Dont Just Investigate Your Boston Condo, Investigate The Management Company Too
A Buyers Agent List of 5 Mission Critical Items to Check Before Buying a Condo
5 Worst Questions To Ask Your Buyers Agent

Return To WeSellBoston.Net

Boston Condos, Would You Let Your Daughter Live There?

This morning our fellow Realtor John Ford released his version of the Boston Condo Sales report.

I went over the numbers myself and pretty much came up with the same figures:

Back Bay Condo Sales

Back Bay condo sales using two metrics: The first includes “all Back Bay condo sales” the second data point is based on “Back Bay re-sales” only. In other words, no new condo developments.

2010 1st Q all condo sales prices:
The average Back Bay condo sales price – $1,375,860
The median Back Bay condo sales price – $1,085,000
The average Back Bay condo sales price per sq ft: $852

2010 1st Q  not including new developments
The average Back Bay condo sales price – $1,122,2244
The median Back Bay condo sales price – $732,000
The average Back Bay condo sales price per sq ft – $787

2009 1st Q all Back Bay condo sales:
The average Back Bay condo sales price – $1,312,442
The median Back Bay condo sales price – $765,000
The average Back Bay condo sales price per sq ft: $778

2009 1st Q not including new developments
The average Back Bay condo sales price – $1,047,562
The median Back Bay condo sales price – $622,000
The average Back Bay condo sales price per sq ft – $752

2008 1st Q all Back Bay sales:
The average Back Bay condo sales price – $1,129,805
The median Back Bay condo sales price – $675,000
The average Back Bay condo sales price per sq ft: $775

2007 1st Q Back Bay condo sales:
The average Back Bay condo sales price – $944,400
The median Back Bay condo sales price – $643,975
The average Back Bay condo sales price per sq ft: $718

So there are the numbers. Does anyone care? Is anyone monitoring these stats?

Is this information useful to my readers and the Boston Real Estate Buyer?

If you have been reading this blog let me know if this is what you want
to read about in our Boston Real Estate Blog

Your comments will definitely be appreciated!

More reading about Boston Condos and Boston Real Estate written by RE/MAX Destiny Exclusive Buyers Representative Jeff Persons ABR, 617-512-3443:

Dont Just Investigate Your Boston Condo, Investigate The Management Company Too
A Buyers Agent List of 5 Mission Critical Items to Check Before Buying a Condo
5 Clues That Your Boston Real Estate Buyers Agent is a Sellers Agent in a Brilliant Disguise.
Can I Get Away Without Paying For a Real Estate Attorney?

Return To WeSellBoston.Net

Boston Real Estate, Back Bay Condos Sales Report

I recently wrote a article called – Boston Homes, Establishing Fair Market Value- In the article I outlined the methods I have developed  to establish fair market value of any property. These methods work really well but they make the assumption that the stated square footage is accurate.

Most Bostons Condos list a square footage that is questionable.

When these townhouses went condo in the late 50s the developers took liberties with the numbers. They lied. No one was watching! I am totally amazed that these brilliant buyers I have (and most are definitely smarter than I am) accept that number as bible.

I’ve remeasured many times with an architect’s help but some are so obvious. For example I put a unit under agreement on Beacon Street. The unit turned out to be a perfect rectangle so it was simple high school geometry to multiply one side to the other and guess what, they had the square footage listed as 25% larger than is physically possible!  Since I was just multiplying 2 sides I was even including closets and storage that were not even living area.

Unfortunately I had to withdraw my offer. I still liked the condo but I couldn’t buy it because I couldn’t sell it. I won’t perpetuate a lie and use the higher number just because its written in the docs.

What I want to say is even if you are lucky enough to have a good Buyers Agent and he does the math (this takes from 20 minutes to 1 hour to do), you still may get tripped up if the listed square footage is a lie, typo, mistake, intentional or unintentional.

The property I referred to on Beacon Street had changed hands many times since 1960 with everyone believing the higher square footage. Buyer after buyer accepting the square footage figure without question.

Whats Wrong With That?

Its worked OK for the last 50 years so whats the problem?

Flowering Trees in Back Bay

The problem comes when you go to sell to a smart buyer who gets an architect for an accurate read on the living area square footage. He then comes to you and tells you your 1400 square foot condo is really 1250 sq ft so at an average of $750 Per sq ft you have your home priced $112,000 too high. Needless to say this is a real bummer for obvious reasons.

It means you paid too much and you can’t get your money
back out of the property.

You could say we will just hold out for a buyer who doesn’t care but there is a moral question here. Are you going to allow yourself to perpetuate this lie? Is it OK to cheat the next guy just because this has been going on for 50 years?

Most will have a problem doing that.

So when your Buyers Agent comes to you and gives you a figure that is supposed to represent fair market value, I suggest you surprise him and everyone else involved by paying to have the place measured and the square footage verified. Remember you are buying square footage at the rate of $750 each in Boston. What else would you buy in large numbers for $750 each without counting?

The suburbs are more difficult but can be approached rigorously with averages. The calculations will eat up some time but answer some very important questions. Stay tuned, Boston Suburbs is the subject of my next post.

Return To WeSellBoston.Net

Contact Jeff

Your comments will be appreciated!

More articles by Jeff Persons RE/MAX Destiny Accredited Buyers Agent-617-512-3443

A Buyers Agent List of 5 Mission Critical Items to Check Before Buying a Condo
5 Clues That Your Boston Real Estate Buyers Agent is a Sellers Agent in a Brilliant Disguise.
Buying Boston Real Estate Without a Buyers Agent is Like Going Into Court Without An Attorney
Dont Just Investigate Your Boston Condo, Investigate The Management Company Too

Boston Condo Buyers, Protect Yourself With Some Rigorous Math

Back On January 9th I wrote a post “If You Wait For The All Clear Signal To Buy Your Boston Home You Missed the Bottom of the Boston Real Estate Market by About Six Months” and now the numbers are telling me that the bottom for Boston Real Estate passed by about six months ago.

It may be a short term bottom and the precursor of another leg down but I don’t think so. As long as the GDP is expanding and the stock market has some traction I wouldn’t come to Boston looking for any “steal deals”.

Sales tripled in Boston Condos in the first 75 days of 2010 when making the easy comparison to the disastrous 2009 but they still doubled over 2008 and are up close to 50 percent from 2007

One of the favorite sayings I learned in my 5 years as a stock trader is “You Gotta Buy Em When They Hate Em”. Well I think the time that they hate Boston Condos has come and gone. Although I usually eschew market predictions but barring any disastrous exogenous events I have to say that I think we’ve just put a bottom in on the Boston Real Estate Market.

Back Bay Condos

1/1/07 – 3/15/07 Sold and U/A – 62 Units Sold, Average price per sq ft – $742

1/1/08 – 3/15/08 Sold and U/A – 49 Units Sold, Average price per sq ft – $1037

1/1/09 – 3/15/09 Sold and U/A – 29 Units Sold, Average price per sq ft – $969

1/1/10 – 3/15/10 Sold and U/A – 100 Units Sold, Average Price per sq ft – $998

Boston Condos (the whole city)

1/1/07 – 3/15/07 Sold and U/A – 682 Units Sold, Average price per sq ft – $427

1/1/08 – 3/15/08 Sold and U/A – 511 Units Sold, Average price per sq ft – $371

1/1/09 – 3/15/09 Sold and U/A – 384 Units Sold, Average price per sq ft – $381

1/1/10 – 3/15/10 Sold and U/A – 1008 Units Sold, Average Price per sq ft – $418

Notice also that prices per sq ft are hanging firm and even rising.

Written by RE/MAX Destiny Accredited Buyers Agent Jeff Persons 617-512-3443

Your comments will be appreciated!

More articles by Jeff:

How to Get the Lowest Prices on Real Estate by Buying in the Winter

What is the Stock Market Telling Us About the Real Estate Market?

It Doesn’t Surprise Me That Boston Real Estate Prices Are Holding firm

The Boston Real Estate Market Has NOT Experienced a Recession

Return To WeSellBoston.Net

First 75 Days of 2010 Boston Condo Sales Triple

A cautionary tale about how accumulated mistakes made

by the management company can bankrupt a condo association!

Boston Real Estate buyers often ignore the management company when they buy into a new building. They just hear “professionally managed” which sounds fine. This can often be a very expensive mistake that your Accredited Buyers Agent will keep you from making.

Here is an example of how incompetence at the management company can drive up condo fees as well as make life miserable for the owners. This is kind of a long story that I can’t make short, but the education value in considerable so please bear with me.

Once I bought a “dream-come-true” condo on the third floor, front facing on beautiful Commonwealth Avenue in the heart of Back Bay. Fantastic bay windows overlooking what Robert Frost called “The most beautiful street in America”. The condo was tree level so it was perfect for people watching as well as enjoyment of the sparkly lights they keep turned on for 5 months a year.

I bought the unit in 1997, before I got into real estate in 2002, so I was really a “babe in the woods”. I didn’t even know what a Buyers Agent was at this time but this incident actually inspired me to start a career in Boston real estate as a Buyers Agent with an emphasis on buyer protection.

My first clue that I should have used a Buyers Agent came six months after I moved into my dream home. I got a bill to fix the roof in this 52 unit building. My share for the 650 sq ft I owned was $8000. This wouldn’t have come as a surprise if I had had a Buyers Agent when I bought the unit. If I had a Buyers Agent, he would have gotten a copy of the condo association meeting minutes where I would find the conversations about the new roof. But since the new roof hadn’t been officially assessed and I was working directly with the Sellers Agent, the meeting minutes were WITHHELD FROM ME. A Sellers Agent will not offer these to the buyers because the Sellers Agent cannot by law reveal anything about the condo that the seller doesn’t want revealed. Once the repairs are officially assessed then they have to tell you all about it.

So I paid the $8000 and started to read the minutes to the condo association meetings in earnest. Reading the latest minutes I noticed a lot of conversation about refurbishing the 2 elevators in the building. Projected cost for my unit was $16,000, but again not assessed yet. Here is where I decided to sell my dream (nightmare) home. Being the honest type, I shared the projections of the future elevator repairs with the new owners even though I didn’t have to because the new elevators hadn’t been assessed yet. I made sure they got a copy of the minutes and budget so at least they knew it was coming when the bill arrived 6 months later.

It gets a lot worse.

Then the condo association and the management company started to make a sad comedy of errors that I followed with great interest and great compassion for the owners from the safe confines of my new 2nd floor dream home on Marlborough Street.

First really big mistake was the management company and the condo association PREPAID the elevator company. The new elevators arrived but they were the wrong size. The elevator company blamed the management company which blamed the elevator company. Since the job was prepaid I bet you can guess who had to cough up the additional $95,000 to make the new elevators fit into the shafts.

So the people who bought my 3rd floor unit, after paying the $16,000 for the new elevators were asked for their portion of the $95,000 to retrofit the wrong size elevators into the building. Because the management company had prepaid, they didn’t have any choice, they had to pay even though the wrong measurement was done by the elevator company and the management company.

I sure am glad that I was out of the building at this point,
just the emotional anguish of these incompetent
irresponsible people costing me money!

But you want to hear the corker? It took them 3 more years to complete the elevator project. It must have been hell for the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th floors as they had to walk up the stairs for a total of 4 years. So much for buying into an elevator building. In the end I think the new owners of my unit paid $22,000 for the elevators when all was done.

But you want to hear the bottom line? The condo fees for the 52 units went up by 50%. So my little 1 bedroom with 650 sq ft that had a condo fee of $350 when I bought it, now has a condo fee of $575. You can imagine how much much harder that makes these 52 units to sell now! Who wants to sign up for a $575 condo fee for a 1 bedroom when most condo fees for that size unit is about $350?

But you want to hear who is to blame? Besides the condo association trustees who apparently didn’t have enough business sense to keep from prepaying for a $500,000 elevator, thus forfeiting leverage to make the elevator company fix their mistake, the real blame goes to the management company who by the way doesn’t care.

So how do you avoid making the same mistake?

Investigate the management company. This can be as easy as talking with the trustees of several of the buildings that the management company has a contract with and ask them how happy they are with them. If you are a buyer and you are working with a Buyers Agent, he can be a big help here. Besides the fact that most of us Boston Buyers Agents already know the good management companies from the bad ones, your Buyers Agent can track down all the documents they don’t want you to see. The sellers don’t want you to see the meeting minutes and the budget and in a lot of cases you WILL NOT see these unless you or your Buyers Agent tracks them down. After repeated phone calls, I’ve even had to show up at the management companies’ door demanding I get a copy.

Property management is a difficult and very low profit margin business so they try to get a large number of buildings to make up for the tight margins with volume. Problem with that is, the more buildings they get the less they care about yours.

Looking for a good Buyers Agent? Call me, Jeff Persons ABR at 617-512-3443
Want to learn more about me?  Meet Jeff

More reading on Boston Condos:

5 Clues That Your Real Estate Buyers Agent is a Sellers Agent in a Brilliant Disguise.
A Buyers Agents List of 5 Mission Critical Items to Check before Buying a Condo
Buying Boston Real Estate Without a Buyers Agent is Like Going Into Court Without An Attorney

Return To WeSellBoston.Net

Your comments would be appreciated!

Don’t Just Investigate Your Boston Condo, Investigate The Management Company Too

In case you didn’t have enough good reasons to seek out the services of an Accredited Buyers Agent, this secondhand smoking law suit in Boston makes the case for finding a really impeccable buyers agent. The buyers agent in this case didn’t lie, he just didn’t do his job, which left this poor woman in a condos upstairs from 2 smokers aggravating her asthma.

It started when this woman, Alyssa Burrage bought a condo in Boston’s South End. The woman has asthma and when she asked about the cigarette smoke smell the agent, who was supposed to be her buyers agent, told her all it needed was a paint job.

Alyssa Burrage

Would that be enough for you? Not enough of an explanation for me. I’ve been an Accredited Buyers Agent in Boston since 2002 and I would never stop my investigation with “It needs a paint job”.  If the woman has asthma its up to her Buyers Agent/Buyers ADVOCATE to look into it further. The guy who was posing as her buyers agent, like all brokers in Boston, knows that cigarette smoke rises and races right through these old townhouses built in the late 19th century.

In my building which is exactly like the one in question, if someone lights a cigarette in the basement it rises right through the building and I can smell it on the fourth floor in about 5 minutes. This happens in all these old buildings. Thats the reason we made ours a non-smoking building. We put a clause into the condo documents.

Alyssa’s agent knew this as anyone practicing real estate
in Boston for a number of years would.

Its so obvious! As an Accredited Buyers Agent, I would have started my investigation downstairs where the smokers live right away.  If Alyssa’s so called buyers agent was thinking about buying this unit for himself you can be sure that the downstairs smokers would have been dealt with or no sale.

Bottom line is even if someone calls himself your buyers agent, it doesn’t mean he really has your best interests at heart. In this case the pseudo-buyers agent just wanted to sell the woman some real estate.

Did he care about her asthma? In a word NO.

Not even enough to ask a couple of questions put to the smokers themselves? Not even enough to ask a few questions of the trustees? Not even enough to take a look at the condominium documents to see if there are any rules regarding smoking?

So why didn’t Alyssa’s buyers agent ask these questions?

The problem with all that objective investigation he could have done is that the answers might very well nix the sale which obviously was all this broker was interested in. I think he avoided lying but the negligence here is his lack of investigating the building and its occupants.

Sorry to report that a Suffolk County jury found in favor of the brokers. As it turns out after 4 years of this hassle Alyssa will receive no damages. She did get a small settlement from the smokers downstairs which is completely ridiculous because it wasn’t their fault. The fault lies with the buyers agent who sold the unit to Alyssa.

A lesson learned the hard way. Real Estate is always buyer beware around here but this case would never  have happened if Alyssa  had been diligent enough or lucky enough to meet a real Accredited Buyers Agent/Buyers Advocate who was sincerely interested in Alyssa, her asthma and the possibilities of her being happy in this property.

Written by RE/MAX Destiny Accredited Buyers Agent Jeff Persons 617-512-3443

More articles by Jeff:

5 Clues That Your Real Estate Buyers Agent is a Sellers Agent in a Brilliant Disguise

A Buyers Agent List of 5 Mission Critical Items to Check Before Buying a Condo

Buying Boston Real Estate Without a Buyers Agent is Like Going Into Court Without An Attorney

First Thing to Do When You Start Your Boston Real Estate Search, Get An Exclusive Accredited Buyers Agent

The Boston Real Estate Market Has NOT Experienced a Recession

Return to WeSellBoston.Net

This Secondhand Smoking Case in a Boston Condo is Another Good Reason to Have an Accredited Buyers Agent Represent You

My buyer and I had been looking sporadically for a few years so we knew the condo market in Bostons Back Bay and Bostons South End in the 700K to 800K price range. We found this really inviting 2 bedroom 2 bath condo right on the edge of the Southwest corridor that separates Bostons Back Bay and Bostons South End.
Once in a while I find a place that would suit me personally just fine and I could move right in and feel at home. This feeling transcends price, its ineffable, the place just feels like home. This condominium is one of those I really like. Check out my first ever video and I will walk you through. Please excuse the amateur video.

Written by Jeff Persons ABR 617-512-3443

More Articles Written by Jeff Persons:

5 Worst Questions To Ask Your Buyers Agent
Can I Get Away Without Paying For a Real Estate Attorney?
5 Clues That Your Boston Real Estate Buyers Agent is a Sellers Agent in a Brilliant Disguise.
A 20 Year Resident of Bostons Back Bay Tells Why He Likes Brookline MA So Much
First Thing to Do When You Start Your Boston Real Estate Search, Get An Exclusive Accredited Buyers Agent