Paul McMorrow wrote an article for Banker & Tradesman regarding the differences between two Boston luxury condominium developments, 45 Province Street and the Clarendon. The following are a few excerpts from the article:
Clear winners and losers are already beginning to emerge. The Clarendon has been open for a fraction of the time 45 Province has, and already, it’s more than twice as full.
{At The Clarendon} Twenty of the 27 units sold for more than $1 million, including one unit sold in March for $4.75 million. According to data from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, it was the first condominium in Boston to reach that price point in 2010, and one of only five since the beginning of last year. Two other sales flirted with the $4 million mark. Closings have routinely eclipsed $1000 per-square-foot.
It’s a different story across town, at the Abbey Group’s 38-story, 138-unit 45 Province tower. The Abbey Group cut the ribbon to the Downtown Crossing building last June to much fanfare, but sales quickly fell off a cliff.
Buyers closed on four units last May and another nine units in June. Since the start of last July, though, the Abbey Group has closed on just three sales. The last sale recorded with the Registry of Deeds closed in January, and carried a price tag of $432,000.
Between Jan. 1 and April 16, 96 $1 million-plus sales have closed in Boston, according to the Boston real estate firm Otis & Ahearn. But 45 Province hasn’t closed a $1 million sale since last June.
