Want to Buy a Decrepit Dwelling in Brighton? That’ll Be $800,000.
You need deep pockets to make an offer on this mildly run-down house.
Photo via Boston Trust Realty Group
Its shingles are peeling, its rusty chainlink fence is tilting, and its property listing politely requests you avoid walking through it. Yet this ramshackle residence for sale in Brighton is listed for a pretty penny—a whopping $800,000.
That’s a far cry from the $219,000 a home down the street sold for in 1999. In an effort to rationalize its price tag, the listing notes that nearby new construction townhouses are listed for $985,000. While that might not make $800,000 sound like a deal, it does make a tiny bit of sense. Both the condos and the sad, run-down house are only a short walk from the newly opened Boston Landing, which is home to New Balance’s headquarters, the Warrior Ice Arena, and a brand-new commuter rail station.
That, coupled with startling low inventory in Greater Boston’s housing market, is how the six-figure asking price came to be.
Decaying structures have been known to fetch sky-high prices in this insane real estate market. Just take this Melrose home destroyed by a fire in March. It was recently put on the market, and now asks $650,000. The craziest part? You can’t even move into it. The building is uninhabitable, and is being marketed as a development opportunity.
This three-bedroom home, built in 1900, is also positioned for developers, as the lot’s 4,000 square feet are zoned for a three-family building. “Ideal for developers or contractors tear down and rebuild new condos, town homes or three family home,” reads the listing. Best of all, it continues, “This deal wont last!!!!!”
Photo via Boston Trust Realty Group
