The Boston Herald is reporting that Google is about to lease 100,000-200,000 sqft of office space in Kendal Square. The presence of a company like Google can have a huge impact on the local real estate market.

Of the 43 listings currently on the market in the East Cambridge / Kendal Square area, the average per square foot price is $466. This figured is skewed considerably by the luxury developments in the area: Northpoint, One 1st, Regatta Riverview and The Glass Factory. Removing those units results in a very reasonable average of $381 per square foot.

At that price point there is potential for substantial appreciation making it worth poking around the area. You never know, you might find something you have to own.

From a residential perspective Boston’s waterfront has been woefully underdeveloped but if you look hard enough you will find pockets of brilliance. The Navy Yard in Charlestown is one of these pockets. It is essentially a gated/walled community that sits on the Charlestown waterfront enjoying incredible south facing views of the Boston-proper skyline. There are a number of successful condo developments in the Navy Yard, the newest of which is the HarbourView. 224 Luxury condominiums with waterfront access, underground parking, and breathtaking views all located only a 5 minute water-taxi ride from downtown Boston.

Unit 201
Unit 205
Unit 229
Unit 232
Unit 334

This week I am in love with the Seaport District. Ok, fine, I admit the love affair has been going on longer than a week.

Why such an intense affaire de coeur? Easy. I am drawn industrial architecture of the area buildings, the clean street plans/neighborhood layout, the urban and artsy spirit, and of course the close proximity to the ocean. Industrial chic meets nautical Nelly?!

Over the last 4 years we have seen numerous loft conversions in the Seaport District. There are also developers looming with big plans to turn this neighborhood into the next “IT

Buying in Detroit. Thanks to huge auto industry layoffs coupled with rising mortgage payments triggered by the thousands of variable rate mortgages issued over the last few years, Detroit is seeing a massive housing slump. Supply is far exceeding demand and price are plunging. A recent article carried by Reuters describes large swaths of the city as abandoned and notes a recent foreclosure auction at which 300 homes were sold to the highest bidder. The article notes a boarded-up bungalow on the city’s west side which sold for $1,300, a four-bedroom house near the original Motown recording studio which sold for $7,000 and a sprawling, four-bedroom mansion from Detroit’s boom days with an ornate stone entrance which sold for just $135,000.These sound like deals people. Certainly at least worth a look at those prices.

Almost every buyer I encounter asks me what I think of the market and whether or not now is a good time to buy. Since most of my clients are either first time buyers or are relocating their primary homes, I always answer the same way.

“Unless you think you are a market timing genius (you are not) and are going to jump back and forth between owning and renting, the money you invest in a primary home is likely going to stay invested in the real estate market until you die. Instead of worrying about the direction of the market, pay attention to relative prices. If you expect to upgrade to a bigger home in a few years than a market downturn won’t necessarily hurt. In fact the price difference between the home you buy now and the bigger, more expensive home you intend to buy in the future will actually shrink. So make sure you get a good deal relative to other things on the market now, but don’t worry about the general market direction. Trade up when the market is down and trade down when the market is up.

Greg Swann over at BloodhoundBlog wrote a nice piece contrasting the realty.bots (Trulia, Googlebase, etc..) with the realtor’s MLS systems.

“Online real estate search tools (their name is legion) are a great place to shop for a home, but they turn out to be a poor place to search for a home. There are hundreds of searchable data fields in a true MLS database, as compared with a few dozen in a realty.bot’s dataset. Moreover, MLS systems are policed for accuracy and availability, with fines assessed for errors.

Now here is an organization that makes some sense to me. Real Estate Agents for Real Agency (REAFRA) is an organization that is “working to keep real estate agency clear for Massachusetts consumers

This circulated via email a while ago but I was thinking about it today…

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

A researcher at the Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, in Cambridge, UK offers further analysis.

Entrepreneurs’ Organization is launching a new program called Accelerator. To become a full blown EO member you must be the founder, co-founder, owner or controlling shareholder for a company with annual revenue exceeding $1 million but Accelerator is focused on early-stage businesses so the requirements are slightly different. To join Accelerator you must be 36 or younger and your company bring in annual revenue between $250,000 and $1 million.

What is the Accelerator Program?

Educational content focuses on four key issues faced by first-stage entrepreneurs: strategic planning, sales and marketing, human resources and finance.

As a participant in the Accelerator Program, you will:
• Connect with other entrepreneurs, including the leading business owners in your city and other first-stage entrepreneurs who face similar challenges

• Uncover the key elements of an effective corporate strategy

• Discover how to replicate yourself as a means to grow your company

• Learn tips and strategies for raising capital and dealing with accounts

• Receive practical feedback to help you grow sales effectively

• Develop the skills required to improve your leadership and entrepreneurial abilities

The Boston Chapter is only accepting 30 members so if you are interested you should apply asap. If you do we might see you there.

Calling all shop-a-holics. Do you love the Mall? Think you love it enough to live there? Because now you can. This new 215 unit luxury high-rise project has one amenity that you can’t find anywhere else. Direct access to the Natick Mall.

It seems like a quirky idea but I think as far as mixed use projects go the Nouvelle at Natick actually has a lot going for it. They have incorporated a 1.2 acre rooftop garden, a private social club with a bar and professionally catered dining room, an attached Bosse Sports Club and of course all the amenities of the Natick Mall.