Boston is an excellent market to own income generating investment units. Housing demand has been outpacing available supply, due to strong population growth, real estate prices continue to rise steadily into 2019. Moreover, Boston is an international education and medical hub, which year after year draws high rental demand. A personal favorite—the Fenway area is an excellent place to own an investment unit due to its prime location, booming new development, and high rental demand.
Location
Fenway is located between Back Bay and Brookline. In some parts, there is only a one-block difference to Back Bay, with Massachusetts Avenue setting the dividing line. Yet, Fenway typically trades at a significant discount to Back Bay, which is arguably the best and most expensive real estate in Boston. According to Trulia, the average price per square foot in Fenway as of April 2019 is $1,083 per square foot, a 29% increase from last year’s average of $851 per square foot. The Pierce Tower, was sold between $1,500-$2,000 per square foot, is the main reason why the average number in Fenway rose so dramatically this past year. There are great deals to be found in Fenway.
Fenway is a small area, however, it has a lot of great things happening besides being home to the beloved Boston Red Sox. Fenway is also home to Boston Symphony Hall, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Huntington Theater, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the New England Conservatory. Popular commercial hubs and destinations for both locals and tourists to enjoy great restaurants, bars and music venues are in Kenmore Square, on Landsdowne Street, Brookline Avenue and Boylston Street.
Fenway is also home to numerous academic institutions: which include Emmanuel, Simmons, and Wheelock Colleges, as well as MassArt, Wentworth Institution of Technology, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, Northeastern and Boston University. The area also hosts several renowned medical institutions, including Fenway Community Health Center and the nearby hospitals in the Longwood Medical Area such as Dana Farber, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital.
Massive New Development
Over the past few years, the Fenway area has undergone massive new development and experienced rapid change. The area along Boylston Street next to Fenway Park has seen extensive new development. Most notably, the Pierce Tower, which is both high-end condos and rentals. The Virdian, the Harlo and several others are new high-end residential buildings which were built within the last few years along Boylston Street. As a result of these new construction buildings, Fenway has transformed and is now booming with restaurants and thousands of new residents.
In-line with all of this new construction, several older buildings in the area are also set to undergo renovations and quality development. Most notably, the Fenway Center will be a large $600 million project, consisting of five mixed-use buildings. Also, the Landmark center is also currently going through a massive renovation, which will add 550 units, 110,000 square feet of retail and a giant Wegmans grocery store. In addition, the new Four Seasons Tower, which is going up on the Back Bay/Fenway border, is now the crème de le crème of the Boston market. Adjacent to this is the newly built 30 Dalton, one of the most high-end rental buildings in all of Boston. While these two buildings are on the Back Bay side of the border, they will improve values in both areas.
High Rental Demand
The most important thing in an investment property is not having vacancy and Fenway is a highly desired area. At this location, you will always have HIGH DEMAND for rentals from:
- Working professionals:Back Bay is home to numerous companies and office towers, and Fenway is within walking distance. It’s a high demand area for local working professionals.
- Undergraduate and Graduate Students:Northeastern, Berkelee College of Music, Wentworth, Emmanuel College, Simmons and Boston University are all within walking distance. Since there is a lack of campus housing, a large amount of students seek off-campus rentals.
- Medical professionals and longer-term hospital patients:Boston Medical Center and the Longwood hospitals are nearby (Beth Israel, Brigham and Women’s, Children’s Hospital etc.). Medical professionals prefer to live near work, due to their long hours (especially residents in training). Out of state hospital patients who come to Boston for medical care require rental housing as well.
Fenway has it all for an investment unit—high growth, great location, and strong rental demand. There are a number of great new development projects and in Fenway to explore for investment opportunities.
Call Jon Kumin at 617.794.4045 or email to discuss more details or help identifying great investment opportunities.
Jon Kumin
William Raveis
d: 617.794.4045
e: jon.kumin@raveis.com
