Breast Cancer Awareness Month

The month of October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Starting on October 1st, BostonCondoGroup.com quietly changed the background image of their website to show support for this important movement.

In response to several inquiries we've received, we are fortunate to say that no one at Boston Condo Group, or our immediate families, have been directly affected by this disease. However, the wonderful National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) organization has done incredible work helping people become informed, pushing them towards early detection, and to ultimately, one day, win the fight against this disease.

For more information, please visit NBCAM.ORG - http://www.nbcam.org/

A Luxury Auction at The Bryant Back Bay

Residences in another new luxury condo development are going up for auction on October 17^th. Ten of the fifty residences at The Bryant Back Bay will be auctioned off by Accelerated Marketing Partners with minimum bids starting at nearly 50% below original asking prices. Located on Columbus Ave. on the border of the Back Bay and South End, the Bryant Back Bay contains 50 luxury condominiums, 9 of which are currently sold or under agreement. The Bryant Back Bay was built as the luxury condo market was booming several years ago, and was completed recently, as the luxury market slowed down, and prices became stagnant or were decreasing. This upcoming auction is an attempt to allow the public to determine what the listing price for the remaining condos in the development should be. With minimum bids starting extremely low, Accelerated Partners believes that buyers will bid up the prices to a price point that somewhat accurately reflects where the market is right now.

The idea for the auction at the Bryant Back Bay follows the successes of several other luxury developments that underwent auctions of the past few years such as Folio on Broad Street in the Financial District, Longwood Towers in Brookline, the 1850 building on Albany Street in the South End, and the upcoming auction of Nouvelle at Natick, located at the Natick Collection Mall, where 42 units will be auctioned off on October 4^th.

The Bryant Back Bay contains 2 and 3-bedroom residences with great views of the city, private elevator access, garage parking, 24-hour concierge service, a fitness center, and all the finest finishes. Potential buyers must register for the auction by Wednesday October 14^th. The Bryant Back Bay residences are open from now until the auction for viewing, helping prospective buyers decide which unit(s) to bid on. Be sure to secure the assistance of a Boston Condo Group agent when touring The Bryant Back Bay. Our Agents will provide you with Professional Representation, ensuring that you fully understand the auction process, and have complete knowledge of this development. Additionally, Boston Condo Group is offering all of our clients the following coupon: A 50% Refund!*

*This refund is given off our services if our client(s) purchase a unit at The Bryant Back Bay auction. The commissions paid to Boston Condo Group, the buyer's broker, are paid by the developer, and not by our clients. We will return one half of the commission we receive back to our clients. And, since this cash is determined to be a refund off of services rendered, our clients DO NOT need to pay taxes on this money. We look forward to helping you purchase your new home.

To learn more about this auction, or to schedule a show, please EMAIL US.

Or, to view pictures of the development, follow this link - Bryant Condos in Back Bay

Luxury North End Rental Available Now

Here's a beautiful luxury condo available for rent on Henchman Street in the North End. This property is located just across the street from the parks and waterfront.

For more information, check out the full listing here - (MLS listing)

To arrange a showing, please email us - EMAIL US



For more information, check out the full listing here - (MLS listing)

To arrange a showing, please email us - EMAIL US

Top Markets Where Home Prices Are Likely to Rise...Boston Ranks Highest

Top 5, 10, or 100 real estate market lists are based on general market area studies of entire cities and market statistical areas....When all real estate is local...make that very specifically local. But for Boston to be included in a prominent group of cities in which home prices are expected to rise in the next 3-5 years is a curious distinction in these times. And Boston actually has the further honor of leading the pack of 40 major Metro areas studied with a predicted 20.14% rise in prices 2009-2014 - see link below to Forbes.com article in full. Yes, it's a testament in part to timing, and natural market cycles. But it's also an important reminder that we're in a desirable market, rain or shine.

Forbes.com: Where Home Prices are Likely to Rise

How do we know home prices will rise?

Well, we don't know for sure...but what's behind the word "likely" is important. These lists are the result of lot of real time fundamental research, market cycle modeling and analysis, close examination of supply and demand specifc to an area, weighted averages, demographic data past and present...all just a few of the things to help quantify, if not necessarily predict, the future.

But whether we're talking about seven figure luxury condominium developments on the Waterfront or the Back Bay, or smart starter units in these and other neighborhoods, Boston has proved to be both dynamic and resilient over time. The recession has affected this area (where hasn't it?), but not nearly as much as other cosmopolitan cities across the U.S. To be continued....... as we cycle forward in one of the country's best markets toward a return to apprecation mode.


"Where Home Prices Are Likely to Rise"
by Francesca LevyFriday, September 18, 2009 - Forbes.com

Anticipation: Key Boston Condo Developments in Our Future

Key Boston Condominium Developments in Our Future

Every real estate project has its time. Throughout Boston, many incredible condominium developments exist in a great assortment of styles, histories, amenity levels and price ranges.
But not-quite-completed developments are conspicuously absent. Although these unfinished developments may be invisible, they're familiar. In recent years we've seen them appear by name in the press, and referred to on real estate brokerage websites. Sometimes we've noticed signs on their buildings/sites branding a development, though nothing much else seems to have happened besides the sign posting. Behind the scenes, it’s not that a lot hasn’t happened to move things forward. Yet, the inability to secure construction financing and/or anchor tenants for mixed use projects, along with other project-specific factors, have held up even the most viable of developments.

A few select condominium developments listed below have been quiet in recent months, but we do expect to see them in the near future, if not tomorrow. Yet the same character and many of the amenities in these planned projects are available to Boston buyers right now from a subsequent list of existing properties.

Pending Project: Lovejoy Wharf - 160 North Washington Street/131 Beverly Street Positioned as a prime gateway waterfront mixed-use project, Lovejoy Wharf's approved design includes 250 residential units, both loft style and flat, many of them to face the Boston Harbor, with access to all transportation, and within immediate walking distance to the Financial District. The project will feature ground floor retail, an outdoor plaza, walkways facing the river, and the restoration of a 40,000 SF wharf. Approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority ("BRA") in 2006, according to Developer Ajax Partner's website the project's estimated construction time line is 2008-2010. A current search of the City of Boston public records http://www.cityofboston.gov/isd/building/docroom/default.asp indicate that no major construction permits have been pulled for the project.
Existing Boston condominium developments that offer many of the same sights, sounds and amenities as those planned for Lovejoy Wharf?

Strada 234
Battery Wharf
Burroughs Wharf
Lincoln Wharf
Union Wharf

Pending Project: Portside at Pier 1 Shipyard and Marina (East Pier): The Boston Redevelopment Authority has approved this mixed use project comprising 543 residential units, including 176 rental units, and approximately 70,000 SF of retail, restaurant and commercial services space. This has been the site of some older warehouses along the Harbor. According to developer Roseland Property Company's website, the project was slated for 2008 to 2010 construction. The project is currently on hold and may remain on hold for the next few months based on issues related to financing.

Existing Boston Condominium Developments that offer many of the same sights, sounds and amenities as those planned for East Pier?

Battery Wharf

Pending Project: One Franklin - Filene's Tower - Downtown Crossing 1.2+ million square feet of newly constructed mixed-use space with 38-story tower at the four-building site, will include a 250-room hotel and 600,000 square feet of office space, approximately 140 luxury condominiums at the site of Boston retail landmark Filene's Department Store. This development will serve as a vibrant cornerstone re-development in Downtown Crossing, a historically well-established retail mixed use neighborhood near the heart of the financial district. The BRA approved the project in 2006. The project is temporarily on hold, with previous substantial demolition leaving a large hole in the ground beyond facades left standing. The property is owned 99% owned by Vornado Realty Trust and JP Morgan, and 1% by Gale International, who has a local presence in Boston). Faced with substantial community support, impatience and pressure, Gale is making a concerted effort to source two things; construction financing on the project, and major anchor commercial tenants. Scheduled completion according to Gale's website is 2011.
Existing Boston Condominium Developments that offer many of the same sights, sounds and amenities as those planned for One Franklin?
Ritz Carlton Condominiums
45 Province
Four Seasons Place


Pending Project: Columbus Center - 101 Clarendon Street and 100 Berkeley Street A major mixed use project linking the South End and Back Bay neighborhoods. This BRA approved project plan comprises approximately 343 residential units, retail, and a hotel to be built on three air rights parcels over the MassPike and other surface plots of land nearby. It began in the mid 90's when original developer WinnDevelopment purchased the above-the-Pike air rights after being selected as the developer by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. Many twists and turns have taken place since acquisition: public opposition, heavy swings in the cost of construction materials, and false starts accessing financing from both public sources and private sources. For example, Anglo Irish Bank backed out of a $500M commitment to finance in 2008. Now effectively owned in a large part by CALPER's (California Public Employees Retirement System) with WinnDevelopment holding a minority stake, the project is apparently on hold. A search of the City of Boston public records http://www.cityofboston.gov/isd/building/docroom/default.asp indicate that no construction permits have been pulled for the project.

Existing Boston Condominium Developments that offer many of the same sights, sounds and amenities as those planned for Columbus Center?

Atelier 505
The Clarendon*

* Under construction