Real Estate
Ice dams are common all over JP, including this Prince Street home. Taken Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015.

JP Real Estate Part IV: Real Estate Agents Offer Advice & Feedback from Buyers, Sellers

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We've heard from Jamaica Plain real estate agents about what they're seeing in the local market -- now they'll share what people have been saying to them and offer their personal and professional advice to buyers and sellers. This is the fourth (and last) article in our series about Jamaica Plain's real estate market. The first article was about the condo market, the second article was about the single-family home market and the third was about the rental market. Anecdotally, what are you hearing from buyers, sellers and renters in Jamaica Plain? Josh Muncey, Ellen, Janis, & Josh Real Estate Team

Sellers are generally blown away by the end result of their sale.

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Real Estate
File photo: Brookside Avenue home.

Jamaica Plain Real Estate Part III: What’s Going On in the Rental Market?

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Many people believe rents are higher than ever -- and they certainly are higher than five years ago. But according to a city report, rents for Jamaica Plain's older housing stock -- buildings built before 2011 -- went down 5 percent in 2016 compared to 2015. With more rental units being built, are overall rental unit prices going to drop? Let's hear what local real estate agents have to say about the Jamaica Plain rental market. This is the third article in our series about Jamaica Plain's real estate market.

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Real Estate

Jamaica Plain Real Estate Part II: Agents Discuss Single-Family Home Market

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The second article in our series about Jamaica Plain's real estate market is about the single-family home market. We asked several JP real estate agents for their thoughts on the houses in which you don't have people living above you or sharing your walls -- although there's always the kids and your in-laws (if you let them move in). This first article in our series about Jamaica Plain's real estate market was about the condo market. 

What are you observing in Jamaica Plain’s single-family market? Maureen McElroy, Jamaica Hill Realty

Here are some stats on single-family houses (as of April 6):

Eight active single-family homes ranging in price from $799,000 to $2,499,000
Nine single-family homes pending
Seven sold from Jan. 1, 2o17, through March 6, 2017, with an average sales price of $851,643 and an average price per square foot $382.

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Real Estate

Jamaica Plain Real Estate Part I: Agents Discuss Condo Market

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The "open house" and "for sale" signs are out on the streets and porches -- the spring real estate season is upon us! To get a feel for the local landscape, Jamaica Plain News asked several area real estate agents about different elements of the market: condos, single-family homes and rentals, as well what they're hearing from buyers and sellers and advice they would provide to sellers, buyers and renters. This is the first article in a series this week. What are you observing in the Jamaica Plain condo market? Randal Engelmann, Focus Real Estate

We are still experiencing very low inventory in all price ranges.

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Rendering of proposal for 25 Amory St.
Real Estate

Neighborhood Group to Consider 44-Unit Affordable Rental Complex

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Development is always big news in JP. And the Zoning Committee of the JP Neighborhood Council sees virtually every proposal of consequence. The neighborhood group meets Wednesday to consider two projects. The largest is a proposal from the JP Neighborhood Development Corp. to build 44 units of affordable rental housing at 25 Amory St.

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Real Estate

JP Condo Prices: My, How Things Have Changed

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Jamaica Plain real estate wasn't always the hottest neighborhood in Boston, but well-preserved (and sometimes not-so-well preserved) Victorian single-family homes could sell for more than $1 million. Lately, some condominiums are joining the million-dollar club. Take, for example, the very visible yellow house at the corner of Pond Street and the Jamaicaway. Two of the condos are currently listed for $1.875 million each, reports the Boston Herald. Statistically speaking, condo prices are rising faster than single-family home prices in the Boston area, with condo prices jumping 12.2% in JP in the first half of 2016, according to Boston.com.

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Real Estate
Rendering of proposal for multi-use building at 5 McBride St., as of Dec. 7, 2016

4-Story Building at James’s Gate Site Wins OK From Neighborhood Group

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The old James's Gate Pub will become 11 condos plus ground-floor retail in a four-story building approved this week by a key neighborhood group. The Zoning Committee of the JP Neighborhood Council voted 8-2 with one abstention to recommend support for a plan by local developer Stephen Ballas to transform the site at 5 McBride St. The proposal has been on the table for roughly a year. Wednesday marked at least the fifth community meeting about the project. While condos are nothing new in JP, the size of the proposed development and fact that it takes the place of a well-known pub have focused attention on the project.

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Real Estate
Rendering of previous proposal for The Gate, 5 McBride St.

Plan for Old James’s Gate Property Returns to Neighborhood Committee

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One of the most-watched real estate developments in a neighborhood full of them returns to public debate this week. The former James's Gate site at 5 McBride St. will be on the docket Wednesday when the JP Neighborhood Council's Zoning Committee meets. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at Farnsworth House, 90 South St., just a block from the abandoned pub. Proponents are pitching a four-story mixed-use building that would have 11 residential units and commercial space on the ground floor.

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Overall site plan
Real Estate

Where Will 300 Car Commuters Go as Forest Hills Parking Lot Becomes Apartments?

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Forest Hills residents peppered a would-be developer with questions about where hundreds of car commuters will go if the LAZ Parking lot becomes a mixed-use development. There were other issues raised during a community meeting Wednesday about "The Residences at Forest Hills," but much of the discussion revolved around parking. The three-building, six-story development would add 252 apartments and townhouses plus 5,500 square feet of retail to Forest Hills' burgeoning stock of mid-rise transit-oriented developments. The meeting was held in the fellowship hall at St. Andrew Church, just up Orchardhill Road from the proposed development.

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Real Estate

Jamaica Plain Home Prices Heading Up, Up, Up

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You probably don't need us to tell you that real estate in Jamaica Plain is becoming increasingly expensive. A couple of articles from the past week bring that point into focus. The Metro calls the JP housing market "fierce," with scarce inventory and quickly rising prices. According to the piece:
There are currently only 47 properties on the market in JP, and less than 25 percent of those that are single-family homes, says Doug McClure, an agent with LAER Realty Partners. Over the last six months, the average sale price of a single family home in JP was $830,000, while the average sale price of a condo was $560,000.

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