Posted on Jan. 15th, 2015
The question of which city is hotter right now in regards to real estate market, Somerville or Cambridge is an increasingly hard question to answer since the super hip real estate market of Somerville progressively steals some mojos of Cambridge.
Somerville condos declared larger price growth in 2014 than Cambridge condos whilst the sales number rose in Somerville accompanied by new construction and condo adaptations. By contrast, Cambridge saw a shortage of new construction and restricted listings hitting the market. Either way, the two cities have been projected to achieve large price gains in the coming 2015 as there are more people in neighborhoods such as Porter and Davis who are looking for available homes and condos.
According to the report of The Warren Group, prices in Somerville posted remarkable gains in 2014 with median condos hitting the price of $472,500 after a 15% jump. Meanwhile, Cambridge prices elevated to 13.8% with median condos rising to $567,000. Some of the increase probably stemmed from those condo buyers acquiring priced out from Cambridge and are seeking for alternatives in Somerville.
However, houses and condos in Somerville are not only more affordable than Cambridge since the city as well has plenty of fresh residential projects that are taking shape, something that is difficult to find in Cambridge. Brokers say that Cambridge surely has some latest stuff, particularly their high-class rentals in Fresh Pond and Kendall Square but their new condos are only few and far from each other, making the price hike and sales fall. By contrast, Somerville has additional happenings right now like the super mega developments and conversions of apartments into condos.
The mega development boom is restructuring the area of Assembly Square where a line station just recently opened. The Assembly Row project with a property measure of 56- acre includes dozens of new restaurants and stores and new apartment buildings. Partners Healthcare is as well building its new headquarters there.
Union Square redevelopment with a budget of $1 billion is as well on the works, with plans for over 2 million square feet of latest development on 12 acres. Meanwhile, small to big time developers are as well converting an old garage, 2 and 3 family rentals and industrial buildings in Somerville into condos.
Example to this include a previous auto repair center located in Somerville Avenue which was torn down to give way to the construction of upscale condos and a dry cleaners shop on Highland Avenue that was knocked down to construct residential buildings.
2015 is projected to be another great year for both cities since interest rates are still low and both have good economy. The rising numbers of home sellers in Somerville and Cambridge are not anymore waiting for the spring to come in order to list their properties because a very unusual huge number of listing have already hit the market since the initial 2 weeks of December, according to Sara Rosenfeld, an expert real estate agent of Coldwell Banker who has been selling real estate homes in Cambridge and Somerville since the beginning of 1980s. Let us indeed see how the two will make their ways in 2015.