Who says the housing market hasn’t recovered? The Hamilton Co. has just completed the purchase of the Dexter Park Apartments in Brookline. The building has gone under renovations recently updating common areas for it’s residents. The price for the 409 unit complex, a cool $129.5 million. The sellers, the Riverstone Residential Group also own a building in the Boston seaport. For more information on renting in Brookline or in downtown Boston give Back Bay Realty Group a call at 617-449-3642.
The big news of the past week has been that Tom Brady has put his Back Bay condo up for sale. Rumor has it, he and Gisele are looking to move to Brookline now that they have a baby on the way. The stunning home that he used as his Boston residence is now on the market for $10.9 million. What’s so interesting about this, is that it’s the same list price his wife put her New York pad on for originally, only to sell it later on for a measly $4.5 million. The question is, which city will win this Real Estate War?
My money is on Boston! Tom has done well in the sale of his other units in this building and I’m betting he can find someone willing to pay at least the $4.6 million needed for the win. I won’t ignore the fact that many homes in this price range in Boston have had a hard time selling lately, but to own a piece of New England history I’m sure someone is willing to pay.
Let’s review what $10.9 million gets you by taking a look at the specs:
3 Bedrooms
3.5 Baths
5 Fireplaces
4 Garage Parking Spaces
1 Outdoor Space
The description reads: In an American Renaissance mansion, this contemporary PH is the pinnacle of 21st century living boasting unobstructed views of the Charles River and city skyline. This 5,000+ sq sf Duplex has 3+ beds, 3+ baths, 5 fireplaces, a stunning great room opening to the gourmet kitchen. Magnificent south facing living room, ultra-hi-tech media room, & master suite w/ an oversized his/her dressing room & a luxurious en-suite bath. Gym, 2 landscaped Private Decks, Doorman, Garage Parking for 4 cars & 1 outdoor space!
If you’re interested in buyers representation to view this property feel free to give us a call at 617-449-3642.
I read an interesting article on Boston.com over the weekend, entitled Real Estate Deadbeats. The article talks about people who were no longer paying their mortgage but not leaving the house either. The “stay don’t pay” idea is one thought that doesn’t occur to most people, since most people assume that you will be evicted as soon as you stop paying. The truth however is slightly more complicated.
The article talks about a company called You Walk Away, which helps people when they decide to stop paying their mortgage. They clue them into the fact that, even if no mortgage payments are made, a person still owns that property until the bank legally and officially takes it back through the foreclosure process or the house is sold to someone else. As one lawyer put it:
“The banks can’t force you out until they own the property. You own the property even if you are late in payments, have a notice of default filed or a notice of trustee sale. Nothing can be done until the property has been sold at auction or the banks take it back.”
The most common advice given when someone decides to do this is to save all of their mortgage money and pay off any other debts. Any extra money should be used when it comes time to rent. This brings me to a conversation I had yesterday with a bank director. When I asked him what he was seeing when people stopped paying, he said the average time it took for his bank to foreclose on a property was 12-18 months. That’s a lot of money for people to put aside for fixing their other debts. I am by no means recommending this route for those people who are underwater, in fact I would consider this an absolute last resort; but it is an interesting route that more and more people are taking.
On Sunday October 4th the Nouvelle Condos were auctioned off at the Crown Plaza in Natick. As one of the most talked about auctions in recent history, it attracted a standing room only crowd at the auction, with over 400 bidders showing up. The event started on time and the bidding was quickly underway after a 10 min practice auction.
The deals that the new owners received that day, were nothing short of spectacular. Most of the 43 units received an average of 49% off the last listing price. The median discount was slightly lower at 48%. The biggest discounts went to the penthouse 3 beds, which in some cases saw a million dollars knocked off the price. These units sold at 60-64% off. In addition to the 43 units that sold at the auction, an additional 12 units sold directly after the auction.
For those that didn’t buy at the auction, you didn’t totally miss out on the deals. The auction’s purpose was to re-price the remaining units and that’s exactly what happened. For the new pricing breakdown on the remaining units take a look below, you will also find the total breakdown of the auction results.
1 Beds: $271k-330k
1 Bed Plus: $309k-359k
2 Beds: $330k-459k
CLICK HERE for Auction results
Luxury Buildings | chris | 
October 29, 2009 10:32 pm | 
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