It’s no secret that The Clarendon is out front when it comes to sales out of the group of new full service buildings. In 2011 though, perhaps the best kept secret was the W Boston. The W has been through a lot in the past year including a bankruptcy, but in spite of this, the W still sold an impressive number of homes. According to MLS records The Clarendon sold 32 Homes in 2011 while the W sold 30. Now, W sales team will tell you the numbers are actually a difference of 1, but nevertheless it’s still impressive. So a tip of my cap to Dinny and her staff and we wish them continued success in 2012.

So if you saw our post about the Bradley Mansion you know what a great condo development it is, especially for those looking for a renovated home in Back Bay. It seems we weren’t alone in our assessment of the property. A full year before completion the development is already over 30% sold out. (45 Province do you hear that?) Is this yet another sign that the luxury housing market is steaming towards a recovery? I’ll let you be the judge but it’s definitely a good sign!

Previously available to only our most exclusive clients, today we are releasing a very special video to all of you. This is our exclusive tour of Penthouse 1 at The Clarendon. This 3,500+ square foot  3 bed and study, boasts some of the best views of downtown Boston you’ll find anywhere. Featuring over 1,000 sq.ft. of outdoor space and views from every room, this condo owns the Boston skyline. Take a look at this incredible unit!

For more information call us at 617-449-3642

Fall seems to be auction time here in New England. Every year around this time we see more and more auction units come on the market. This fall proves to be no different than the one before it. Audubon Park the building that was bought out of foreclosure just a few months ago for $13.5 million is now auctioning off 25 units. The new owner in an effort to pass on his savings to potential purchasers has decided to auction off the units.

Each of the condo units comes with environmentally friendly bamboo hardwood floors in the living spaces and plush carpeting in the bedrooms. The open kitchens make entertaining a breeze, each comes with granite counters, stainless steel appliances from top of the like companies like Bosch and Fisher Paykel. The bathrooms have European-style vanities with stainless steel legs and marble tops. Each unit has individually controlled heat and AC. Garage parking can be purchased separately. For a list of minimum bids on the auction condos take a look below.

As I mentioned in my last post there are a lot of new development condos on the market right now and some developers are getting desperate. The people behind the development at 100 Beacon, are now offering a free mini cooper with with every unit. The cheapest unit in this building has an asking price of a cool $2.1 million. I might be underestimating how the economy is going, but if you can spend $2.1 is a Mini Cooper really going to make a difference?

This is not the first time this has been tried in Boston. In 2007 the Macallen tried this same tactic, they gave away a Toyota Camry Hybrid with each condo sold. (They went with a hybrid car because it’s a green building.)  I’m sure this won’t be the last attempt by a developer to do this, but let me give some advice to those who are thinking about it. Pair the car and the building! The hybrid car with the green building makes sense, a Mini Cooper says your striving to be cool with a car that’s lost some of that cachet. If I were trying to be cool I’d toss in a smart car, it’s cheaper, more rare and will turn a lot more heads especially when you park it sideways.

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.

Agents are always saying it’s a great time to buy, and I know to many people agents sound like the boy who cried wolf. All they hear is how it’s such a great time to buy and they think the agent is really only saying it to make some money. While that might be case for some less than scrupulous agents, you certainly won’t hear it from me. It’s always much better to simply let the facts speak for themselves and right now the facts are saying it’s a great time to buy, if you want to live in the Seaport District.

FP3 is the newest condo development in the Seaport District and consists of 89 fantastic loft units. Perhaps the best feature of the building is its ability to grow with you. Condos in the building start, in the low $300’s and go up $2.6 million. As your life changes and you need more space or want a better view, you never have to leave the building! They have it all right there for you and in addition, right now they have some great prices. For close to $300,000 you can get almost 700 sq ft. of brand new loft space. We’re talking top of the line appliances, granite counters, the works! The fantastic mortgage rates in the market place right now, mean you can be in this building including condo fees for pennies above $1700/month. Now let’s compare this to the rest of the neighborhood.

The only complete rental building in the Seaport doesn’t even come close to getting you this square footage right now, even when you bump the price almost $1900. If you look at other private condos in the Seaport District with similar sq footage, they are fetching roughly the same price. What this means, is that you’re seeing a lot of rents at the lowest they are going to get since for many investors they are renting at cost. With the rent in private condo buildings for similar units being the same as the cost of owning one yourself, you have to ask: why pay someone else’s mortgage when you can pay your own?

If you’re interested in seeing what exciting condos FP3 has to offer give us a call at 617-449-3642.

This past Friday, the 1330 opened its brand new rooftop pool. Lucky for all of you, I was invited up to see the grand opening. The pool caps what was already an amazing roof deck, on the Fenway’s most prestigious building. The new pool allows you to remain cool and still be able to see the scoreboard at Fenway Park. The views of the Back Bay skyline aren’t too bad either, and it’s definitely the place to be when it gets nice and hot like this coming week. Check out the photo of the new pool below!

For more information this building click here.