Is Brookline a Bulletproof Condo Market?

As a local real estate broker and long- time resident of Coolidge Corner, I wondered how resilient was the Brookline condominium market. Was it bulletproof? Consider the following occurences. 

After real estate Armageddon occurred in the fall of 2008, the median price of Brookline condominiums in 2009 went up, not down, rising from $440K to $455K. In 2009, Brookline also sold 32 million dollar condos, far above the 21 it had been averaging over the previous four years.

In 2010, Brookline’s median condominium sale price appreciated again, this time to $468K. And in 2011,  a time when one out of every seven Massachusetts condominium sales was either a short-sale or lender owned (my analysis of MLS data), only one out of every 78 Brookline condo, sales were in similar states of distress. That year, Brookline’s median condo sale price-- of course--rose again, this time to $490K.

In 2012, consumer confidence went up and so did Brookline’s median condo price and sales transactions counts. The median condo sale price topped $500K and about 25% of the town's condos sold in less than seven days of market time.

In the first nine months of 2013, nearly 63% of Brookline condo sales went for more than the asking price, 10 condo sales garnered offers at least $100K over-ask, and one , 64 Parkman #3, took an offer that was $215,593 over-ask. For the fifth year in a row, the town’s median sales price went up, this time topping $542K. And although only nine months of the year have gone by, Brookline already has 47 million dollar condo sales.

Looking a t these numbers, however, makes me think that maybe the Brookline condominium market isn’t just bulletproof, maybe it has real estate superpowers too. LOL.

( For an in depth look at the condo market, join me October 17 for Inside the Condominium Market)