Hello from Boston. I’m a property investor currently concentrating on new-build flats, especially transaction costs and the gap between advertised prices and completed sales. I’m trying to compare markets without getting trapped in one local bubble. For the United States, would you start with the local board, a market-data discussion, or a particular type of sales dataset?
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Boston newcomer comparing new-build pricing
- Thread starter LucaPage
- Start date
One useful distinction is already emerging: listing data alone will not answer the question. That raises the issue of where Boston records completed transactions and what costs or incentives are missing from the headline figures.
I would begin on the local board and use its discussions to identify suitable sales data, rather than starting with a national price table. New-build posts should be compared by unit specification and transaction date, with purchase costs included from the beginning. Renovation discussions can also help reveal expenses that a simple advertised-versus-completed comparison overlooks.
I would begin on the local board and use its discussions to identify suitable sales data, rather than starting with a national price table. New-build posts should be compared by unit specification and transaction date, with purchase costs included from the beginning. Renovation discussions can also help reveal expenses that a simple advertised-versus-completed comparison overlooks.
Are you mainly studying Boston purchases, or trying to build a model that works across several US markets? That changes what will be useful. Also, are these first-purchase questions, mortgage comparisons, or cash investment modelling? A broad national dataset may help with direction but not necessarily with the costs attached to one building or transaction.
luca_surveys
Property manager
I have looked at the advertised-versus-completed comparison, and it remains unclear how much of the difference is genuine negotiation. Two new-build units may have different specifications, sale dates or incentives even when the headline prices appear comparable.
That is why renovation discussions are a useful cross-check rather than a separate subject. They show how quickly the apparent purchase price stops representing the full cost of making a property usable. Once the intended US market is narrowed, I would compare matched units and record incentives and transaction expenses separately before drawing conclusions from the price gap.
That is why renovation discussions are a useful cross-check rather than a separate subject. They show how quickly the apparent purchase price stops representing the full cost of making a property usable. Once the intended US market is narrowed, I would compare matched units and record incentives and transaction expenses separately before drawing conclusions from the price gap.
Once you narrow the market, build a simple property-by-property sheet: advertised price, completed price where available, transaction costs, mortgage assumptions, expected management costs, and any renovation allowance. Then use the local discussions to identify what your model is missing. Legal and lending details vary by jurisdiction, so those items are better turned into questions for the relevant professionals than assumed from another market.