Million-dollar sales on two coasts
A December 2017 Boston City Properties article cited PropertyShark’s study of home sales above $1 million in coastal cities with populations of at least 300,000. The study covered sales within city limits over roughly three years beginning in 2015 and included single-family homes, condominiums and co-ops.
The account reported 2,059 qualifying Boston sales, behind New York and Washington among East Coast cities. It gave 57,006 sales on the West Coast and 39,113 on the East Coast, totaling 96,119. Manhattan accounted for 24,457 sales in the account. Other reported examples included Miami at 1,854, Virginia Beach at 303, Philadelphia at 260, Baltimore at 138 and Jacksonville at 91.
The West Coast discussion included Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose and San Diego, with Honolulu also listed in the original comparison. Because Honolulu is not on the continental West Coast, that classification should be understood as the study grouping described by the article, not geographic equivalence. Population thresholds also limited which cities entered the comparison.
Rental snapshots from Zumper
The article cited a Zumper snapshot dated December 1, 2017 in which Boston’s median two-bedroom rent was $2,690 and its one-bedroom median was $2,250. It described Boston as sixth for two-bedroom rents and reported a 2.3% one-bedroom increase from 2016. National monthly medians were given as $1,233 for one bedroom and $1,392 for two.
A later passage supplied a different Boston one-bedroom figure of $2,200 without an equally clear date. Those snapshots should not be merged into a single rent estimate or ranking. Proposed federal changes to mortgage-interest and state/local-tax deductions were discussed as possible influences on buying and renting, not demonstrated causes or current tax advice.
Towers and a proposed record sale
The report described a One Dalton penthouse contract at approximately $40 million and named Michael Dell as the buyer reported at the time. It contrasted that proposed transaction with a reported $35 million Millennium Tower condominium sale. A contract was not a completed sale or proof of a later record.
One Dalton’s planned 742-foot tower, Mass + Main in Cambridge and Bulfinch Crossing were among the developments discussed. Wynn Boston Harbor in Everett was also mentioned, but should not be treated as a residential apartment tower simply because it appeared in the same construction roundup.
Transportation and redevelopment ideas
The account described Mayor Marty Walsh’s proposed “key to the city” payment concept for transit, bike share, parking and potentially private transportation. It also discussed a Seaport–South Station gondola proposal with a projected capacity of 15,000 daily riders. These were ideas, not established services.
Wonderland’s approximately 38-acre site, the roughly 161-acre Suffolk Downs site and the former Boston Flower Exchange were discussed as redevelopment locations. Mixed-use, retail, life-sciences and public-space plans were not interchangeable parcels or completed outcomes.
The article connected the planned Green Line Extension with Union Square development, including retail, offices, a hotel and as many as 1,000 residences. Its expected 2021 station openings and employment effects were forecasts made in 2017, not a present transit schedule or investment guarantee.
Historical account attributed to the original Boston City Properties article. Underlying records and later outcomes have not been freshly verified.
