Will Roslindale Get as Expensive as Jamaica Plain?
Condos, homes in Roslindale have been seen as the cheaper alternative, but perhaps not for much longer.
Roslindale is fast becoming a magnet for middle-class buyers priced out of red-hot Jamaica Plain and other trendy Boston neighborhoods.
Open houses are packed in Roslindale and condos and homes in the neighborhood are often fetching multiple bids from buyers attracted by relatively more affordable prices, brokers say.
“We are just getting an influx coming this way,’’ notes Rafael Hernandez, broker and owner of A Plus Realty Group. “In JP, the next town over, the prices are getting so crazy.’’
Roslindale’s newfound popularity can be seen in a growing number of bidding wars for homes and condos in the neighborhood, noted Paula Callaghan, an agent with McCormack & Scanlan.
She points to 40 Coniston Road, a relatively new home – built in 2005 – that fetched more than a dozen offers and went off the market within a week of being listed.
The final price is likely to wind up considerably higher than the $699,000 the owner was asking, Callaghan said, noting that one of her clients bid $730,000 and lost out.
While new construction is always a draw, a small cape across the street went for nearly $400,000 – more than $20,000 over asking price – after getting a trio of offers, she said.
A big attraction in the neighborhood is Roslindale Square, which has become an increasing draw thanks to a lively restaurant scene and a weekly farmers’ market.
Like many local shopping districts, Roslindale Square was hit hard as malls gained popularity, but it has staged a comeback in recent years with a mix of new restaurants and long-time family businesses.
Homes and condos near the square and the green space of the Arnold Arboretum are especially sought after, Callaghan said. New housing is starting to pop up in the area as well.
Parkside on Adams, a new 43-unit apartment project under construction in the square where an old funeral home once stood, is slated to open this fall.
Convenience also plays a big factor. While the Orange Line ends at Forest Hills in Jamaica Plain, there is a commuter rail stop in the square, providing access to downtown Boston.
Buyers may be seeing Roslindale as a neighborhood where they can make housing dollars stretch further, especially after getting sticker shock in J.P. or South Boston.
“They feel like they are getting more for their money,’’ Callaghan said.
Still, how long Roslindale prices will stay affordable remain to be seen.
The median home price in Roslindale is now over $408,000, up 7 percent from last year, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. The median condo price now weighs in at $300,000.
And it’s not just homes and condos that are getting more expensive, but apartments as well, with rising rents in neighboring Jamaica Plain leading the way.
The rent for a decent two-bedroom in Jamaica Plain a decade or two ago was $1,300. Now it tops $2,000, according to Hernandez.
Now Roslindale is seeing the same escalation. Two-bedrooms are starting at $1,600 a month and going up from there, compared to $1,200 a couple years ago.
“I feel bad for some people – it’s reminiscent of what happened in JP,’’ Hernandez said.
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