Condo costs in the greater Davis area

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

Do any of you know the going rate for condos in the greater Davis area (by that I mean places where I could walk to Davis Square in under 20 min) but still be in a good/decentish area. I know right in the square would be very pricey - I'm just kind of exploring the idea with each rent check I flush down the toilet,  prices seem all over the place when I look on CL. 

What do you think would be a expected cost for 1 or 2 bed? Have any of you looked lately, if so what are you seeing?

Thanks

Comments

[library-sexy.livejournal.com]

This is a really open ended question and I think you already answered it for yourself with your look on CL. The price of a condo or a house is not based just on the number of bedrooms, its location or any other one or two single factors.

To get an answer that might be helpful for you I would speak with a real estate agent. It won't cost you anything. You can put together what your requirements are and they can run some comps for you to see if it is affordable for you to buy.

Good luck in your quest.

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

Fair enough, I'll restate my question differently, is it totally unrealistic to find anything at say 200,000 and under?

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

yes.

Everything I have found in MLS listings for somerville, with a max of $200k, is a 1Br under 700 square feet.

And there are six of them.

Try using the search function on http://www.newenglandmoves.com - that's where I just got that info in 30 seconds.

[schpahky.livejournal.com]

I'm practically in Arlington, and 2 brs by me are going for about half a million dollars. Tiny one-brs across the street are a steal at $300,000!

[narya.livejournal.com]

Ditto on this answer.

In addition, you can also take a look at sites like zillow.com to get a vague idea. I would be careful to take the prices that units were actually sold for as data (rather than Zillow estimate of what it's worth).

[schpahky.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, yes. But keep watching Winter Hill.

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

My friend is looking for a place right now in the Greater Davis Area and is having trouble finding something he likes for under $400k. Granted, he is willing to pay for a few things some people don't need, but still, it is pricey around here.

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

That is useful, thanks!

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

Thanks, that is a new site for me, I appreciate it.

ZipRealty.com

[progressnerd.livejournal.com]

The best sites to research housing prices and details are ziprealty.com (http://www.ziprealty.com/) and redfin.com (http://www.redfin.com/). They are two of the few sites that give you basically all the MLS details on every home, including the complete address. If you end up using one of their agents, then you get money back from the commission they receive -- good deal. We used an agent through ZipRealty.com who was great.

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

I like arlington, but yeah its not much cheaper than davis - everytime I start peeking around there are always a ton of openings for dirt cheap at a place called Arizona Terrace - I've noticed the same thing when apartment hunting over the years - wonder whats wrong with that complex.

Re: ZipRealty.com

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Really? We were looking about two years ago and didn't have a problem with that ceiling (though we ended up going in with a friend on a 2-family, which is a better deal, if you have a friend you trust & get along with very well).

Re: ZipRealty.com

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Yeah, we used Brian Christopher with ZipRealty and we were satisfied. He's knowledgeable about the local market and has a decent eye for things that might be issues on inspection. Better, none of us have an instinct for negotiating and he does -- we paid 10% under the list price (which had already been lowered before we made an offer). Woot!

[library-sexy.livejournal.com]

Others have already answered your question but another site to took at for properties for sale and values is Truila (http://www.trulia.com/for_sale/Somerville,MA/CONDO_type/price;a_sort/#for_sale/Somerville,MA/0-200000_price/price;a_sort/)

Despite the slump in housing Somerville is still holding a lot of its value these days.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm finding that anything under $300K in Somerville tends to be more in the not-so-nice neighborhoods of Somerville. Certainly nowhere near Davis.

[lissie930.livejournal.com]

I did most of my real estate searching through newenglandmoves.com (we used a wonderful Coldwell Banker broker). When you register with them, you can get street addresses. Redfin.com and realtor.com are also fine, they all pretty much have the exact same listings. I think redfin has more in terms of some tax information.

Something to keep in mind when you're looking at purchasing is that the payment for the mortgage is just one expense - you're going to have real estate taxes, condo fees, and other costs for things that you don't pay as a renter (budgeting for home maintenance is wise). So take that stuff into consideration when making your monthly budget! Also, in Somerville, I believe you don't get the residential exemption for your real estate take the first year (it's as of Jan 1). So your first round of taxes are also going to be higher.

When we bought out our condo in Union Square, similar condos (meaning, similar sq. footage, 1 bath, 2 bed, similar upgrades in the kitchen, etc) in Davis were going for at least 50K more, due to T proximity.

Good luck!

[spaz-i-mota.livejournal.com]

looks like you picked the wrong day to hunt for a condo...
(reference to your icon..i LOVE airplane!)

[visage.livejournal.com]

I'm just kind of exploring the idea with each rent check I flush down the toilet

If you want to buy a house, you want to buy a house, but if your reasons for considering buying are financial, you might want to poke around at the economics of renting versus buying and whether you actually expect to save any money by buying.

...especially if the housing market continues to decline.

[anomie666.livejournal.com]

I can't really offer much help, but as someone who is looking to buy in the area, this has been very informative!

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Like I said, he has a few stipulations about driveways and square footage and stuff that others don't, so that can change things. He actually looked around here with the same stipulations 3 years ago and had trouble then, too. Anyway, it sounds like you got a pretty awesome deal! :)

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

PS, if you need a realtor, I have a recommendation for you.

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Oooh can I recommend my realtor to you as well?

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

I'm def not at that stage yet, just starting to see what the options are, but I'll refer to this thread when i'm ready for a realtor and contact you. thanks a bunch!

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Sure; best of luck!

[rozasharn.livejournal.com]

The housing market will continue to decline for a few years, probably until about 2013. If the OP doesn't need to buy now, I advise banking every penny they can and buying with a down payment in a few years.

[anomie666.livejournal.com]

I'm about 2 years away from actually buying, I'm at the "saving up money and keeping my fingers crossed" stage.

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

Buy a two-family near the future green line extension, you you'll have no problem renting it to yuppies!

[mperrotti76.livejournal.com]

11-ty-bazillion dollahs, dood.

[mrboboto.livejournal.com]

This is the best-kept "secret" in Somerville real estate. Multi-families in Winter Hill, or even closer to Union, are going for a song right now. They're usually in pretty bad shape, though- lots of contractor/developer specials.

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Mmmm glue sniffing ;-)

Have you been?

[winterhill.livejournal.com]

Arizona Terrace is a circa-70s style apartment complex that has been renovated into condos. They are horrid. I checked them out when looking to buy a few years ago. I ended up in Winter Hill, where there are more reasonable condos, and it's about a 20 minute walk to Davis.

[somertricky.livejournal.com]

How far do you imagine housing costs falling? Say, for a multi-family within walking distance of Davis?

Also, do you foresee rents falling as well? If they don't, housing costs aren't going to fall quite as far as you'd think/like/hope.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Two years ago prices were higher, but there were probably more choices. $400K is not an unreasonable ceiling for a 2BR depending on other requirements.

[winterhill.livejournal.com]

Just got a mailer about a very nice looking condo in Union Square that's listed at $274,900. Really nice looking reno from the pictures, but the glossies always look great. Property looks very dog friendly. Might be worth a call to the listing agent, Dana Finnegan at Hammond RE in Cambridge. 617-497-4400 x278

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Hmm...got the MLS number?

[canongrrl.livejournal.com]

the place beneath us is on the market - most likely mid 300k (sure they'd negotiate) with 1 car parking, 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath and its all recently rebuild from the studs up - 4 years ago.

zillo.com is pretty good but it is a little low for the area.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I tend to use the MLS searches on nemoves.com and kw.com. We definitely, definitely need $300K or less (preferably less) since we don't have a huge amount available for a down payment.

[canongrrl.livejournal.com]

I'm gonna bet if its still on the market in 3-4 months (which it may be) you can get them to really come down. We can poke you off line later on if you are still looking and they are still looking (since they are 100% moving come augustish)

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

And we'd be looking to move in July-August. :)

[derekp.livejournal.com]

Not much. It's still a premo location and that has insulated the Davis area a bit. The good news is that prices aren't skyrocketing.

[derekp.livejournal.com]

A couple of Data Points:

1. My wife and I bought a 3 bedroom, first floor condo 1/4 mile from Davis and a stones throw from Tufts last June. It has a bit of yard space, shared garage, and was completely renovated. 459K. We found the place we wanted in a great location and paid asking price because 3 other people liked it too (we actually had the 2nd highest bid and got it when the high bid fell through). It sold in 7 days.

2. The unit upstairs was purchased completely unrenovated. It was in terrible shape. It was about 1100 Square feet or so with an unlivable attic. The buyer put a new roof on with a master suite on the 3rd floor. He paid roughly $350K for it, if I'm remembering correctly. Sank quite a bit into renovations, I imagine since it was a gut rehab + an addition.

So my official answer: Not cheap. The cheapest of the places we saw when looking that didn't require significant work and was at least 2 bedrooms was asking $340 and was over near RT16.

[cold-type.livejournal.com]

Prices are coming down. A 934-square-foot condo on Washburn Street went for $243,333 on Feb. 1, 2008. A 2-bedroom, 985-square-foot on Morrison in a great loctation went for $350,000 on Feb. 21, below its assessed value. A newly renovated 1-bedroom condo on Liberty Avenue is listed at $250,000. And I've seen some units sitting on the market for months, suggesting prices will come down further. One real estate agent told me: "In this market, no one gets their asking price." I'm sure there are exceptions, but it does look like that's the overall trend. That said, it's still an expensive area.

[fefie.livejournal.com]

Since the OP mentioned "walk to Davis Square in under 20 min"-- parts of Spring Hill (think Somerville Hospital and Armory) are 12-15 min walking distance to Davis, Porter, the Community Path (and even walkable to Ball and Union in 20 min) and will be walking distance from the eventual Lowell stop on the Green Line. I bought my little crib in Spring Hill years ago -- don't know its worth now but it was much much cheaper than comparable in Davis. Except for those mansions around the Museum, the area is cheaper than Davis, near public transportation, and accessible to a lot of parts of the city.

Weighing purchasing

[chumbolly.livejournal.com]

When my wife and I decided to buy, the first thing we did was go to lots of open houses, for months. That will give you a very good idea of what you'll get for your money. We got so we could walk into an open house and once we knew the square footage, we could guess the asking price within a few thousand dollars. Having that gut feeling will make it much easier to make an offer without feeling like a sucker.

Next, talk to a mortgage broker to find out what you can afford. I'm of the opinion that when purchasing, the more important number than the actual price is the monthly cost. And the biggest determinate of monthly cost is current interest rates. So if interest rates are low, you can afford a lot more. I would also suggest that you borrow significantly less than the broker says that you can afford, though it could be that lending standards have gotten a lot tighter than when I purchased.

Then add up the monthly mortgage amount, condo fee, taxes, water bill and maintenance and figure out what your total monthly cost will be. Then, figure out how much you'll save in the mortgage interest deduction off your federal taxes--that can be a big number. In my case, the deduction probably saves me over $300 a month. All told, my place probably would cost me about the same to rent as it does to own, though of course I can do things like renovate it and make it my own that I couldn't or wouldn't do if I rented. Plus I get to pocket any appreciation when I sell. Fortunately, I bought six years ago, so I'm not underwater on the value.

Lastly, don't think of buying a house as an investment first and foremost. Think of it as your home, that you'll probably be in it for a while, and that the ups and downs of the market aren't so important. Viewing it as an investment will drive you bonkers. On the other hand, you never want you home to be noose around your neck, so make sure you can live with the expense over the long term, even if you life situation changed dramatically. My income went from ridiculous to zilch for a while, but I had savings and a comfortable mortgage payment, so it didn't kill me while I got my income back in line.

I hope that's helpful, and best of luck!

Re: Weighing purchasing

[sueb226.livejournal.com]

Well said!

Only thing I would add is to have a rainy day fund of a few thousand dollars kicking around because you never know when the fridge might die or you will need to do some 'surprise' repairs