Brookline, Massachusetts is bordered on three sides by the city of Boston, and is the birthplace of people such as John F. Kennedy, Barbara Walters, and Conan O’Brien. Because of it’s proximity to Boston, Brookline is able to cater to both urban and suburban lifestyles, and has both large apartment buildings and luxury estates. Brookline boasts average property values more than 50% higher than the rest of Massachusetts, and 120% higher than the US average.

A majority of condos in Brookline tend to be in the more urban part of the town (Northeast), which also happens to fall in between both Boston College and Boston University. The urban areas are further broken down into neighborhoods including: Coolidge Corner, Brookline Village, Washington Square, and Cleveland Circle, Coolidge Corner being the most desirable.

According to MLS, the 33 Brookline condos that have sold in the last month, have ranged from a $237k garden level 675 sq ft condo being sold “as is” on the low end, to a $2.125 million 2759 sq. ft. condo in a historic 8 acre gated estate w/ 24 hour security, concierge, pool, fitness center…and the list goes on, the condo fees alone were almost $2200 per month!

Even though Brookline boasts higher than average property values, as of March 17th 2006, the Brookline condo market does not have a great outlook. Right now there are 279 condos for sale in Brookline, and in the last month only 33 have sold. This gives Brookline an 8.45 months supply of condos. If you are not familiar with months supply, this means great news for buyers, bad news for sellers. This softening trend is also being reflected in other stats as well.

With an average list price of $573,948 and an average sale price of $550,265, sellers are conceding to prices almost $25k below asking. And it’s important to keep in mind, the average list price mentioned above, does NOT reflect the $47k (on average) that 14 of the 33 condos had already dropped their prices while sitting on the market for an average of 81.75 days.

Jon Ernest is the Principle Broker of Spotlight Realty. A small, independently owned, full service residential real estate agency in Brookline, Massachusetts.

http://www.SpotlightRE.com
Brookline condos for sale