Last year’s real estate market, though still down in the number of sales, continued to stabilize pricewise. Cambridge median prices are actually higher now than they were at the peak in 2005! This stability applies to some surrounding towns as well.
Cambridge new or renovated condos sold last year at vigorous prices in all price ranges. $1 million sales of renovated townhouses in good locations were ‘commonplace.’ Renovated 2 BR condos in a triple-decker near Porter Square sold in the $500ks and townhouse style renovated condos on Prince and Decatur in Cambridgeport sold from $650k - $805k for 2-3 BRs. With careful searching there are still values to be found, especially with today’s absurdly low interest rates.
Apprx. 50% of Cambridge sales in 2011 were ‘cash’ sales, with no mortgage, and investors were active buying condos or multi-family houses to rent out. This suggests that buyers may have been taking funds out of the stock market for what they saw as a more stable or productive investment in Cambridge real estate. A triple-decker in North Cambridge asking $875k had 11 offers, from a mix of rental investors and condo converters. A 3 family near the Charles River, with a 1990s renovation, asking $1.195 million had 6 offers, 5 of them cash, from a mixture of end users and investor/developers.
Meanwhile, a shortage of desirable inventory, job shortages and possibly consumer confidence means fewer buyers bought and rented instead. This caused rents to increase and a shortage of rental apartments available. This has led to a 200++ unit rental being built on Route #2 near Faces about to be built and in Boston, 5 luxury rental buildings are going up.
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