You can buy this ‘teardown’ in South Boston — for $2.1 million
In many U.S. cities, $2 million will get you a luxury turnkey home. In Boston’s wild real estate market, it’ll get you this.
In many cities across the country, $2 million will get you a luxury turnkey home. In Boston’s wild real estate market, it’ll get you a teardown.
That’s the case with 194 W. Ninth St. in South Boston. The property first hit the market in June 2021 for $2,150,000, but the price has since dropped to $2,100,000.
The 1,500-square-foot home offers two bedrooms, one full bathroom, and one half bathroom, and has central air and central heat, according to the listing. On the outside, weathered wood panels, some with chipping red paint, illustrate why the home is being sold “as is.”
The spacious lot, however, is probably what prospective buyers are after. The space is 3,951 square feet, more than double the size of the neighboring lot at 202 W. Ninth St., according to tax data from the city. In South Boston, that kind of space gets a builder’s attention.
“There’s not a lot of land for sale in South Boston, and there’s not a lot of inventory,” listing agent William Laferriere of Coldwell Banker said.
As of Feb. 24, there were only 49 condominium units on the market in South Boston, a 51% drop from 2021. Prices for these units have also risen year over year, from a median of $889,450 to $929,000, according to Multiple Listing Service data.
“When you look at the price per square foot and how few listings there are at the present time, it bodes well for those folks who are looking to capitalize on the market as we extricate ourselves from the coronavirus,” Laferriere said.
As Boston threatens to overtake San Francisco as the city with the second-highest rents in the United States, a new condo or apartment building could mean a serious payout for the owner. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in South Boston is $2,375, according to BostonPads, well above the national average of $1,688.
The current home is also about a 15-minute walk to Carson Beach and a 10-minute walk to Andrew Station, according to Google maps, factors that may add to the appeal of whatever new homes or apartments are built on the property.
Potential buyers and builders hoping to create multiple units will have to contend with a zoning variance, however, as the current lot is zoned for a single-family, Laferriere said.
It’s a worthwhile undertaking, according to Laferriere, as the real estate market in Boston shows few signs of slowing down.
“It’s starting to slow down elsewhere, [but] it’s not going to slow down, according to what I’m reading, because we’re such a small big city, and we have an incredible amount of high-paying jobs continuing to roll into the Boston area,” he said.
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