Want a recipe for some “all-time high real estate sales?”
Why not take a stock market that’s doubled over the last five years, add some wicked cheap mortgage rates, and spice with low-to-no inventory? These savory ingredients have provoked bidding wars all over the Hub, but could they create the most delicious, most delectable, and highest condo sales in recent memory? I wondered, so I looked at the highest condo sales of the year in several key Greater Boston markets and then I compared the 2013 high sale to the all-time highest condo sale for that market. What did I find out? While not record-setting everywhere, 2013 could definitely be given a five-star rating. 2013 high sale numbers in this column were through Dec. 15. Check it out.
Cambridge: The highest Cambridge condo sale of 2013 was $3.974 million, paid for a 2,170-square-foot penthouse located at 93 Winthrop, No. 7, Harvard Square. The sale was about $250,000 less than the highest price ever paid for an MLS-listed Cambridge condo, which was $4.25 million for 975 Memorial Drive, No. 1008; but don’t be fooled, the 2013 high sale sold at $1,831 a square foot, about $773 more per square foot than the all-time Cambridge high sale and about $300 more per square foot than any Cambridge condo sale ever.
Brookline: In 2013, 120 Seaver, D202 was the Brookline high condo sale. It sold for $2.2 million, $649 a square foot. This sale isn’t in the same league as Brookline’s highest condo sale ever, which was the $5.25 million paid for 120 Seaver, E-100 in 2008, but the $2.2 million sale price is the highest for a Brookline condo since May 15, 2008.
South End: The last condo to go off the market at the ground up development at 518 Tremont St. garnered a sales price of $3.5 million, making it the South End’s highest condo sale of the year. The highest sale in the South End’s MLS history was $3.925 million, paid in 2007 for a penthouse at 1280 Washington St. The 2013 high sale sold at $1,400 a square foot, almost twice as many dollars per square foot as the all-time high sale, which sold for $719 a square foot. In fact, out of more than 6,000 South End condo sales in MLS, only one other property in the South End’s MLS history had received more than $1,300 a square foot.
Somerville: 86 Summer St., a 3,793-square-foot townhouse, closed for $1.125 million, making it the highest 2013 sale, and tying it for the third highest Somerville condo sale in MLS history. The difference between 86 Summer St. and the other all-time Somerville high sales is that the three other Somerville high sales ranged from “steps” to “two blocks” from Davis Square, and 86 Summer St. is located in Union Square.
Charlestown: 1 Monument Square, Unit D sold for $1.64 million, $777 a square foot, thus becoming the highest Charlestown condo sale in 2013 and the highest condo sale outside the Navy Yard since 2004. The highest sale price in Charlestown condo history was the $3 million paid for Herb Chambers’ penthouse at Flagship Wharf in 2005.
South Boston: Not surprisingly, the highest South Boston condo sale of the year occurred at the iconic Macallen Building. In 2013, Penthouse A received $1.945 million, $960 a square foot. The highest condo sale in South Boston MLS history was also in the Macallen building, the $2.095 million, $753 a square foot paid for a combined unit (517 and 518) that closed in May 2007, when the building was brand new. In 2012, South Boston’s highest condo sale was for $1.277 million.
Beacon Hill: 50 Beacon St., No. 3, a 3,905-square-foot condo, sold for $6.25 million ($1,600 a square foot) making it the highest Beacon Hill sale of the year. The same condo sold for $5 million in 2008, making 50 Beacon, No. 3, both the second and third highest sale in Beacon Hill MLS history. The highest Beacon Hill condo sale ever was at 96 Beacon PH, a 5,641-square-foot penthouse, which sold for $9.29 million, ($1646 a square foot) in 2008.
Back Bay: Unfortunately, Back Bay had a sous chef and not master chef preparing its high sales in 2013. The highest 2013 condo sale was unit E 10A at Mandarin Oriental, which sold for $7 million, $1,711 a square foot. The highest Back Bay MLS condo sale ever also occurred at the Mandarin, $13.2 million, $1650 a square foot, in 2011.
Jamaica Plain: The highest JP condo sale of the year was the $1.495 million paid for 220 Allandale Unit A. The $255 per square foot price seems like a bargain compared to other Boston luxury locations. The highest JP condo sale ever, $1.8 million, occurred at 218 Allandale C in 2008. When it closed in September, 220 Allandale, Unit A was the highest sale since 218 C closed in April 2008.
Brighton: The highest Brighton sale of the year occurred at 39 Selkirk, a 1,955-square-foot, newly constructed townhouse that sold for $795,000. It was also Brighton’s highest condo sale ever that didn’t occur on Beacon Street.
What’s in store for 2014? Hopefully, dessert.
David Bates is a broker with Gibson/Sotheby’s International Realty and author of The Bates Real Estate Blog, www.BatesRealEstateReport.com.
