Longwood Medical Area

Longwood Medical Area, situated between Fenway, Brookline, Mission Hill and South End, is a concentration of some of the world's most renowned medical and academic centers. The neighborhood is defined by the large, elegant campuses of Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and other world-class research and teaching institutes. Residential properties are at a premium because of the high demand for living space. Often grouped with the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood, the area is well-served by public transportation and deemed one of the most walkable and most convenient for cycling in the city.

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Longwood Medical Area Residential Investments

With the high influx of people looking for residential property in and around this area, Longwood is a prime area for investors to find profitable investment properties. With more than 46,000 workers and 100,000 visitors in the area every day, rentals are in high demand. Few properties come on the market in the Longwood neighborhood, and when they do, they go quickly.

Longwood's median sales price was $575,000 for the period February to May 2015, averaging $774 per square foot. This is 34.98 percent higher than the median sales price for Boston. The median rate for a one-bedroom apartment in the Fenway-Kenmore-Longwood area was $2,275 in June 2015, slightly higher than Boston's rate of $2,225.

Choosing the Right Longwood Investment Property

Investing in the Longwood Medical Area can be a smart move for a forward-looking investor. Boston City Properties helps investors identify and evaluate properties that are undervalued or have a potential for above-market returns. We use historic neighborhood data for cash flow analysis and evaluate income potential to help you determine a target capitalization rate. Our database contains all rental and sales listings throughout greater Boston to help you find great investment opportunities. We also help investors with 1031 exchanges. Call 617-247-1933 for information about current listings.

Longwood Medical Area Real Estate Market Overview 2017

Unique among Boston-area neighborhoods, Longwood contains a large number of unoccupied owned homes throughout the year. The number of homes for sale, however, declined 25 percent in 2017 and resulted in an exceptionally competitive market for potential buyers.

With an average home value of $1,417,400, the average listing price decreased 16.7 percent from the year before. The median sales price of all homes, however, increased $593,900, or 92.1 percent, from $645,000 to $1,238,900 in May. In contrast, the median sales price for a three-bedroom residence declined 28.3 percent from $1,950,000 to $1,398,800 in May. The average price per square foot of homes sold during the period dropped from $833 to $805.

In August, the median rental price in the neighborhood dropped from a high of nearly $5,000 in January to $4,000, the lowest point of the year.

2017 Real Estate Development

In November, a letter of intent was submitted to the Boston Planning and Development Agency to construct a 10-story, 345,000-square-foot building on 42,700 square feet of land at the West Israel Deaconess Medical Center at the corner of Brookline Avenue and Francis Street. This will be the first new patient care facility for the Harvard Medical School teaching hospital in more than 20 years. The new building will include operating rooms, private inpatient rooms, imaging facilities and a rooftop helipad.

With the foundation under construction, the $1 billion, 11-story, 565,000-square-foot Boston Children's Hospital clinical building on Shattuck Street was begun in September and is expected to be complete in September 2021. The largest construction project in the history of the hospital, the state-of-the-art building will include three below-grade floors and a rooftop healing garden. The project will expand hospital capacity from 401 to 472 beds, expand the cardiovascular program and establish a Neonatal Intensive Care unit with 30 private rooms. The cardio center will include five stories with 96 private inpatient rooms, a clinic with 21 general exam rooms, 9 pre-op exam rooms and one-floor diagnostic and treatment facilities.

The surgical area will include 10 new operating rooms adjoining 12 remodeled existing operating rooms. An open-concept clinical lab will increase efficiency, as well as provide more space for pharmacy, pathology and central processing. Indoor and outdoor green and open space will be increased by 25 percent. A glass-enclosed pedestrian bridge will connect a new lobby on the first floor of the main building to the fourth floor of the parking garage, which will also be updated to reach nine levels with an additional 70 spaces. In addition to improving safety, the new pedestrian bridge will limit pedestrian and vehicle congestion and give staff and patients an aesthetic view of Longwood Avenue. Work on the bridge began in December and is expected to be completed in September 2019, while the garage is expected to be completed in December 2019.

The timeline for the entire clinical building project calls for excavation and cross lot bracing from the second quarter of 2018 to the first quarter of 2019, steel and concrete structure construction from the fourth quarter of 2018 to the third quarter of 2019, construction of the building envelope from the second quarter of 2019 to the first quarter of 2020, the interior fit-out from the second quarter of 2019 to the fourth quarter of 2020 and the mechanical, engineering and plumbing system start, testing and inspection from the fourth quarter of 2020 to the second quarter of 2021.

Recently constructed, the 10-story, 42-unit smoke-free luxury Mosaic Boston on the Riverway condo complex is located on Fenwood Road. Each condo features one-level living space, wood floors, floor-to-ceiling windows, ample closet space, laundry, granite kitchen counters, gas range and an adjacent covered parking area.

Residents will enjoy such amenities as a private deck, 24/7 property management, fitness center, bike storage, mail room, top floor club area with kitchenette, all on nearly an acre of gated green space. Pets are welcome.

Also located in the Mosaic on the Riverway towers are 42 affordable condos and 66 affordable apartments. The apartments will include studio and one-, two- and three-bedroom units within a community that offers on-site day care and playground. To be eligible, households must earn no more than 60 percent of the Boston area median income.

In July, a residential developer announced plans to purchase the Olmsted Place luxury apartment community for nearly $103 million, or more than $525,000 per unit. The price includes the 2012 land purchase for $10-plus million and $84 million for a new building to be constructed at the 3 1/2-acre former site of the Home for Little Wanderers child services. Nearly 20 percent of the 196 apartment units are designated affordable. The units include studio, one- , two- and three-bedroom apartments, ranging in size from 530 to 1,300 square feet. Each well-lit open-concept unit features 9-plus-foot-high ceilings, 6-foot-high windows, living area hardwood floors, luxuriously carpeted bedrooms, tiled baths and kitchen with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. Pool- and courtyard-view units are available.

Residents of Olmsted Place apartments enjoy such community amenities as 24-hour maintenance service, a fitness center, barbecue and picnic area, lounge, pool deck, private dining, coffee lounge, free Wi-Fi, underground parking, bike storage and a pet-friendly environment.

Expected to open in the fall of 2018, Emmanuel College's new 18-story, 690-bed residence building will replace an old 220-bed hall. The new building will allow 84 percent of Emmanuel's students to live on campus, up from the present 73 percent. There will be 155 two-bedroom apartments with two baths, living room, kitchen and washer/dryer, besides 64 one-bedroom units. The new building will feature a common lobby area, a convenience store, café and fitness center. The environmentally-friendly building will also feature LED lighting and energy-efficient windows, plumbing and heating and cooling equipment.

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