It’s a common complaint.  You go to an open house or a showing and the listing agent gives you a show sheet with approximate square footage.  You look around.  She must be mistaken.  The listing says 800 square feet, and you estimate about 650.
Is the agent lying?
Most likely, not.  No one would lie.  The agent […]

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Designers such as Philippe Starck have recently gotten into the condo development business.  Developers sign up these "name" designers to add cachet to their projects.  The developers do varying amounts of work - Starck was responsible for the "overall feel" of Charlestown’s Parris Landing, as well as designing the common areas (complete with obligatory […]

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Bowing to enormous pressure, I am posting a story about Manny Ramirez and his condo at the Ritz Carlton.
Mr Ramirez is selling his home, although he won’t say why. 
Perhaps he just needs more space, says the Inside Track.  Like, the kind of space you find in Manhattan, per chance?
From the listing agent:
Boston Realty […]

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Have you considered buying a new home this Christmas season?
It can be a good time to look for a new home, assuming you have the time and patience to do so, while you’re busy getting ready for the holidays and the new year.
The only downside is that sometimes sellers take their properties off the […]

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If you own your own home, you most likely have homeowners’ insurance.
Most renters do not have renters’ insurance.  They should.
Most renters don’t buy insurance for one of two reasons.  First, a lot of renters are low on available funds (or they’d buy, right?), and see insurance as a luxury they just can’t afford (sort of […]

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There’s an enormous project taking place in lower Manhattan.
The Deutsche Bank Building, at 130 Liberty Street, was damaged by debris falling from the collapsing Twin Towers, on September 11, 2001.  It needs to be taken down, so that a tower and a park can be built on the land.
Easy, you say, they can just blow […]

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Christopher Caldwell writes in The New York Times Magazine about the French riots and how Swiss architect Le Corbusier is partly to blame.
Le Corbusier was notable for his idea of the "Radiant City".

In a nutshell:

In the Radiant City, however, the pre-fabricated apartment houses, les unites, were at the center of "urban" life.

Les unites were available […]

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Single-family home sales decline in Massachusetts

The Boston Herald picks up an Associated Press story about a decline in the number of single-family home sales, in October.
Sales of single-family homes decreased 9% in October, most likely due to rising interest rates, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. 
However, condo sales increased 14%, when comparing October […]

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New development of the day is known as XII Stoneholm.
This is a conversion from apartments to condos.  121 condos, in fact.
Location is just a block off Massachusetts Avenue, near Berklee School of Music and Northeastern University.
If you were interested in 75 Burbank, you might want to take a look at XII Stoneholm.
From the listing agent:

Building […]

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Scott Van Voorhis of The Boston Herald has a column out today about the Columbus Center development.  This is the massive project planned for the area between the South End and Back Bay, over the Mass Turnpike.
The real estate sales market has cooled this fall, and Mr. Van Voorhis suggests that the developer, Arthur Winn, […]

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