Luxury Condos Win Out Over Brownstones
You’re from out of town and you’re thinking of buying a home in Boston. Will you choose life in one of Boston’s historic brick rowhouses or instead one of Boston’s new luxury condo buildings?
According to an article in The Boston Globe, these days, you’re more likely to choose the luxury condo building, where you may pay more in maintenance fees, but where you’re also more likely to live a stress-free life, replete with concierge, parking and a gym.
“We are sucking people out of those brownstones,” said Diane Maloney, quoted in The Globe story. Her firm is marketing 45 Province , a 138-unit, 32-story, ultraluxe condo tower under construction near Boston Common. “Schlepping up the stairs and parking in the alley doesn’t look so good” to buyers anymore, she said.
So far this year, 525 condos in brownstones and row houses were sold in Boston, down from 2,442 during the same period last year, according to Listing Information Network Inc., which tracks Boston’s market. But sales in modern buildings, primarily those built since the mid-1990s, surged to 875, compared with 767 a year ago.
Some of the jump in luxury condo sales may simply be a result of more condo developments to choose from. All sorts of new condos have been erected in recent years, including 285 Columbus lofts, Battery Wharf, 44 Prince Street, Art Block, and 700 Harrison Avenue. The increased sales may also be explained by an aging population seeking maintenance-free living. Anyone who has ever spent time in a brownstone knows that these 100-year-old historic houses require intensive upkeep, in addition to a willingness to climb stairs. Brownstones sometimes have mice, damp basements, and of course, require owners to set out the trash for pickup. Most don’t have the insulation and sound-proofing of modern buildings. Evidently, older buyers are shirking all the work and opting for efficient, quiet, and light-filled modern interiors.
If you’re inclined to agree with the buyers opting for the modern, you might want to take a look at these 12 new developments in downtown/central Boston:
Audubon Park
Columbus Center
East Pier Boston
FP3 Boston
Greenway Place
Lincolnshire Condos
Lofts Avana
Mandarin Oriental
The Intercontinental
The Bryant
The Clarendon
Zero Marlborough
July 21st, 2008 at 6:53 am
Of course new condos are more preferred to old brick houses. Maintenance and services are the things that sell homes these days. Even in Canada the condos are becoming the no.1 choice. Even retired people from the U.S. seek peace and easy life in their nice, new, fully equipped apartment and are willing to pay that extra dollar for it. If you`re interested. you can take a look at some Toronto condos and you might find something you like.
Cheers
Elli