Dorchester Investment Properties

Named the Curbed Boston Neighborhood of the Year in 2014, Dorchester is the largest, and one of the most diverse, neighborhoods in Boston. Founded in 1630 before the founding of Boston, Dorchester is now part of the city. Situated on Boston Harbor and the Neponset River, the area was an industrial center and the home of Baker Chocolate Factory. Dorchester's several subdivisions center around the 527-acre Franklin Park, the crown jewel in Boston's Emerald Necklace park system. Several metro lines serve the area.

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Dorchester Residential Investments

Dorchester is less expensive than many Boston neighborhoods. Large single-family homes, a Boston rarity, are intermixed with triple-decker wood frame houses, brick apartment buildings and newly renovated luxury condos like those of Lower Mills. Neighborhoods and commercial districts are well integrated. Several Main Street centers like Fields Corner, Upham's Corner and St. Marks support small businesses to stimulate local commerce in surrounding residential areas.

The average list price for Dorchester was $375,000 in May 2015, 62.68 percent lower than Boston as a whole. The median sales price was $159,000, a decrease of 44.6 percent over the last year.

Fields Corner East ranked 19th on the list of the priciest neighborhoods to rent an apartment in Boston. Median rents of $1,550 are higher than $1,450 for Boston as a whole. The median rental rate for a one-bedroom in Fields Corner was $2,350, the same as for all of Boston.

Choosing the Right Dorchester Investment Property

Rental and sales prices vary by sub-district within Dorchester, so investors must be well-informed about the dynamics of each area. Some properties such as triple-deckers don't stay on the market long because investors close cash deals within a few days of listing. Boston City Properties uses up-to-date market data for rentals and sales throughout Boston. Whether you are looking for a renovation for a quick return or a long-term investment like a multi-family rental unit, our agents can help. We evaluate income potential, cash flow and expenses for residential investments to help match properties with your unique investment goals. Call us at 617-247-1933 to find out more about residential investments in Dorchester.

Dorchester 2017: Real Estate Developments and Housing Market

Whether you are planning to make Dorchester your next home or you want to sell a property here, there are a few things you should know about this Boston neighborhood. The market trends are showing that there will be an increase in the median homes sales in Dorchester. Compared to last year, the home sales have increased 21% or equivalent to $80,000.

In this neighborhood, the average price for every square foot is $384. Last year, it was only $320. Compared to the other prices in the nearby areas, Dorchester is one of the friendliest places in Boston for the buyers.

Currently, it makes more sense to buy a property in Dorchester because the median rent is up with an average of $3,000 per month. Meanwhile, for those who are thinking about buying a property, here are some numbers that may help you decide whether you should go ahead with your choice or hold it for a while:

• Last year in September, the median sales price was $400,000.
• It went slightly lower the next month but it decreased even more in November last year to $375,000.
• Even when 2017 opened, the median sales price was not satisfactory for the sellers.
• However, when February came, the real estate market took a nice turn. The home prices began to soar to $434,000.
• Although the prices decreased till June, July and August were particularly high as they reached $448, 250.

With the sales and demand growing as the inventory decreases, the home prices continue to jump. Even the year-on-year changes for one to four bedroom properties were all positive this year. Although four bedroom homes only saw a 1.7% increase this year, one bedroom homes improved 14.3%. Two bedroom properties also increased 20% and three bedroom homes also saw a 20.5% increase.

Home Prices in Different Areas in Dorchester

Dorchester is the most populous neighborhood in all of Boston, followed by Roxbury. The area has almost a seventh of the residents in the city, which makes sense that Dorchester almost functions like a city of its own.

There are about a dozen parts of Dorchester, which are considered to be micro-neighborhoods. If ever you are planning to move to Dorchester or you simply want to get an idea of how much the single-family homes are or the condos, you will see how different each one can be. This is especially true in terms of the prices for every square foot in each of the smaller neighborhoods in Dorchester.

Condo prices in this area can start at $490 for every square foot, particularly those found in the Polish Triangle or the Andrew Square area. However, if you just drive to Grove Hall, you will find that there are many cheaper options, such as those that begin their prices at just $68 per square foot.

Meanwhile, the single family homes differ as well. In Savin Hill, there are properties that are only $294 per square foot. In the nearby Codman Square, the single family homes would be priced even lower at $150 per square foot.

While Savin Hill may have some affordable housing, Dorchester waterfront properties continue to increase. In fact, many of the properties in the area now average $444 per square foot. Savin Hill has become a desirable location as well as Neponset because many people are aiming for waterfront views these days. There are also some people who are more than happy to live in a home that faces the waters.

Meanwhile, Neponset has some properties that cost $220 per square foot, but there are more that start at $594. The asking prices are surprisingly more expensive than the waterfront properties over at Quincy, which also offers waterfront views of the Neponset River.

More Sales and Developments in Dorchester

While Dorchester may not be experiencing a number of great redevelopments such as other neighborhoods, like South Boston, there are a few notable changes here. Just in 2015, Dorchester saw the sale of the very first million dollar home in the area. Plus, there are more expensive properties that are popping up the market.

Just recently, Dorchester has sold a number of homes in the neighborhood, including one in 7 Allstate Road. This property was built in 1993 and stands in more than 147,000 square feet of space. The asking price was well over $12 million.

Another home that was recently sold was in 241-243 Woodrow Avenue. This time, the house is a very old one as it was constructed way back in 1910. The house measures almost 6,000 square feet and occupies the 4,376 square foot lot. The asking price of this property was exactly $1,100,000.

There are more properties that went on sale and found buyers, including the following:

• A three family decker in 3 Annapolis Street built in 1905. The house has 19 rooms, including eight bedrooms and three bathrooms. The asking price was only $1 million.
• In 15 Salcombe Street, a conventional home for three families, which was built in 1884, was sold for just $980,000. It had seven bedrooms, three baths, and three other rooms.
• Another three-family conventional property built in 1905 at 28 Clarkson Street also found a buyer who was willing to pay $875,000. It has 18 rooms, including 11 bedrooms and three bathrooms. The lot measured 6,123 square feet.
• In 32 Bellevue Street, a family decker from 1905 was bought for $850,000.
• A condominium at 1245 Adams Street was sold for $835,000.

Even more transactions happened recently, including those in Quincy Street, Everton Street, and Norwell Street. Additionally, it is worth-mentioning that Boston Globe’s Dorchester headquarters for a long time was sold for $81 million The HQ is located at Morrissey Boulevard and was bought by a private equity firm.

There are also old buildings that are being transformed to luxury condominiums where one example is the Lofts situated at Lower Mills. New apartments are being constructed as well, including the DOT Block. It is still not approved by the Boston officials but when it gets the nod, it could add more than 360 new housing units in the Dorchester area.

Aside from these developments, there were also other proposals involving the neighborhood of Dorchester and most of them are huge. Among them is for the redevelopment of the Bayside Expo Center, which is located in Columbia Point. The 19.94-acre lot was set to be transformed into a mixed-use area to compete with the Harvard Square, which is in the Cambridge neighborhood.

Another proposal involved Port Norfolk where a development firm would build 150 condominium units, along with a hotel that has 25 rooms. Even better, there are already major projects happening at the current time in Dorchester. One is the project next to South Bay comprising of 11 acres of land. It is due to have almost 480 condos. It will also contain 130 hotel rooms.

Dorchester indeed has many things to offer, especially when it comes to houses for sale. There are affordable yet gorgeous properties and new proposals almost come in every few months in a year.

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