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No automatic markdown for new Downtown Crossing apartments
By adamg on Thu, 08/16/2012 - 4:05pm
The Boston Business Journal reports on a presentation on the new residential tower that will allegedly fill the Filene's Memorial Hole. And while the developers aren't saying how much it'll cost to live 50 stories above Washington Street, the Journal finds one apartment expert who predicts "a 350-square-foot studio will cost $3,000 or more per month."
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Comments
No sympathy
If you pay $3,000 in monthly rent to live in that neighborhood, I won't feel badly for you one bit if you go broke.
I'd agree with you
but there are a bunch of people paying $3,000 a month excluding utilities to live behind Joshua Tree in Allston.
But their building has an astroturf yoga studio on the roof, so I guess it's OK.
Oh, those people are even dumber
Seriously, we should get the names of all those tenants, and put them on a list of people who should be barred from ever receiving food stamps or EBT cards.
When they come looking for a handout, we'll just ask them "well, gee, maybe you shouldn't have paid three grand a month for an apartment."
If only we could build more
If only we could build more roads and parking garages so we can live in suburbia and just drive to school/work.
Do you seriously think that
Do you seriously think that the people renting 3,000+/mo apartments are the same people who receive food stamps? And how is that last line a question?
You seem to be the most obtuse person who regularly posts on this site, and that includes ofishl and swirlygirl.
Well, they don't get food stamps now
Maybe down the road they'll be broke? See, that's a question, because it has a question mark at the end of it.
And I'm fine with being obtuse. It means I'm greater than 90 degrees and that I'm hotter than you. FACE!
Nobody is paying $3k a month for a 350 sq foot
studio in Allston.
Envy is a virtue.
Envy is a virtue.
So is saving money
By paying not even 1/5 of that for rent. That's what I do.
Yes, worship the rich etc
erm I mean "job creators". Nice to see you keep up on your talking points there, NotWhitey.
It must be
since the class warfare all seems to be emanating from those who consider themselves to be morally superior.
Best place to be a slumlord owner in Boston.
Is that section of Allston/Brighton inbetween Comm Ave. and the Brookline line from Harvard Ave. to Washington St.
I've always looked at buying property there but the prices are always higher than I think they are worth. Run down 2 families for 1.2 million that stay run down 10 years later?
No thanks.
So... my understanding of the
So... my understanding of the rule of thumb for rent is about 25%. At 3k, that means the people who will live there will make about 144,000 a year gross income. Even at 30%, it is still $120,000.
Basically, to make reasonable income to afford the place, you have to make well into the 6-figures - not merely... well for 350 sq feet. The convenience to take the T must be really worth a lot.
To ask the UHubers here, how much would you say is a good income (question is tailored a bit to me at sub-25)? And what would one say is actually reasonable value?
Good question Rhonin
This is still a great buyers market, and in my opinion no one should be paying over 3K a month in rent anywhere in Boston. You can still buy good condos in Brookline, West Roxbury and Newton for 350K and up. That's going to run you a little more than 2K a month in a mortgage and taxes (even without 20% down) so in my opinion you are much better off buying.
You really don't see nice/luxury apartments for rent in Boston for under 5K a month, and you can still get decent places for 700-1500K a month in rent. It's that middle ground (1500-4000K a month) where you really need to start to looking at buying property in Greater Boston. There are some great FHA loan packages out there and really low rates which can save you literally hundreds of thousands of dollars over 30 years. These types of savings might not be around in 5 years. The FHA loan insurance has gone up a good amount, so if you have 20% to put down, buying in Boston is really in a great place right now.
The Allston Rent Scam - it's as old as the universities
The scam with rents in Allston has always been because the landlords have figured out that they can charge per person rather than per bedroom since college kids are used to sharing a bedroom. It is easy for them to do this, since to the cost is the same to the people paying the rent (i.e., in most cases, Mom and Dad). The landlords look at the per person cost to live in university housing, make it slightly cheaper, and bang, $3000/mo for a lousy two bedroom unit (4 people x $750 pp/mo). The kicker is that Mom and Dad think they got a deal.
The numbers are examples (and might not be that great), but the overarching point remains. The ridiculousness of this is highlighted when you see that you can go to areas inhabited by slightly older people, who are less/not willing to share a bedroom, the prices go down. That's why, in my experience at least, I was able to get MUCH nicer places in parts of Brookline for less money than comparables (which were not really comparable) in Allston.
It's not just Allston.
It's not just Allston. Overall rents and buying prices for property have doubled in the past 15 years. A large studio in Allston/Brighton could be had for no more than $65k (and that in a nice, owner occupied building) in 1998 now goes for $125k and up. Same with the rent for a similar location: $600-800 has gone to $1,200-$1,400. Virtually nothing else has doubled in that time frame. Not wages, nor the prices on groceries, consumer goods, etc.
The government needs to institute artificial property value caps so that they can not go up that much. Yes that sounds like socialism - but if they don't who will? Certainly the market has failed to regulate itself.
One might argue that means an astute buyer could now double his investment - but then after they've gotten their 125k all they will be able to afford is the same or worse housing than they just sold. [Note I am not talking about people who callously invest in properties they do not live in as such people should be shaved with cheese graters]
They haven't doubled in the last 15 years.
They may have doubled (or even tripled and quadrupled) from 1990 to 2004, but since 2004 prices have not doubled.
I'd rather see the city make
I'd rather see the city make it easier to build apartment buildings in places where they make sense (near existing public transit and walkable retail).