Boston's Back Bay Market Update

If you’re familiar with Boston, you know that Back Bay is the place to be.  I’ve been here for 11 years and I love living here.  I moved away once, but moved back.  If you’re planning to move to or within the Back Bay, there are some things about the market you should know.

First, it had the highest dollar volume of any Boston neighborhood last year.  The combined total of sales was over $658,000,000.  The second highest was the South End, Boston’s largest neighborhood, with about $628,000,000.

Second, spring is when the market’s the hottest, with the majority of closings taking place in August.  The average listing is on the market for 48 days.  That’s a little bit longer than some other neighborhoods in Boston, but it’s also important to realize the average sale price in the Back Bay is $1,900,000.00.  

Finally, it’s important to consider the sale price versus the listing price.  While they’re related, they’re not the same thing.  Sometimes agents will recommend listing the property at a price lower than what the owner is willing to sell. Agents do this to get lots of people excited about the property and to start a bidding war that could drive up the price.  

In some markets agents will recommend listing lower… however this isn’t always applicable in Back Bay; the market is hot.  Sellers don’t need to entice demand with a low asking price to spark a bidding war.  Desire and demand are present.  Over the last year, the average listing price was $1,259/sq ft with the average sale price at $1244/sq fit.  So that’s just a $15/sq ft difference.  (That’s about a 1%)  That can probably be chalked up to individual unit differences instead of market trends.

Spring is here, which means temperatures are getting hotter and so is the real estate market.  If you’re planning to buy or sell, now is the time!  If you have any questions about Back Bay real estate or about the market in general, please ask me!  My cellphone number is 617 528 8461 and my email address is willy.charleton@nemoves.com.  I’d love to hear from you.