Although less portrayed than New York or Los Angeles, Boston will be familiar to anyone with a small history as a movie or television viewer.. The sensation is due to the fact that, through the camera, that viewer has surely already walked its streets with Victorian airs in the journalistic investigation that recounts the feature film Spotlightor in old lawyer series like Ally McBeal o blind Justiceto give just a few examples that the memory of who will know how to complete.
The reference is useful to orient that it is in that city of Puritan descent, that combines classical architecture with brutalist buildings and others that represent the latest trends, where today there are opportunities to invest in real estate. Why opportunities? In principle, because there is a market; particularly, factors that guarantee a flow of demand. So says the architect Amir Kripperowner and founding partner of the homonymous studio, of River Plate origin but with 20 years of residence in the city.
“Boston is the headquarters of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Harvard, among many other universities that there is in the city”, shares the professional, thus indicating the importance of the educational community in the metropolis that every September, the month of the beginning of the school year, receives 500,000 students. “In quantitative terms, we must add the students their families and teachers: they all need a place to live”, completes the architect, detailing that among those mentioned are both those who want to buy a property and those who choose to rent.
Particular signs of the city
Located at the mouth of the Charles River, at the inland point of Massachusetts Bay on the eastern shore, the city dates back to 1630. As it slipped a few lines back, It was founded by the Puritansa religious group expelled from England in the 17th century. It was they who, precisely, also founded there America’s first public schoolthe Boston Latin School in 1635. Today, the presence of some of the most prestigious universities in the world explains the youthful and somewhat relaxed atmosphere that characterizes the city.
Even so, it is also possible to find quite a few executives in coats and ties there. In this sense, Kripper reports that Boston is the headquarters of several of the most important insurers on a global scale. And furthermore, the source continues, Staples, the commercial bookstore chain, and the clothing brand New Balance have chosen it as the head of their operations. On the other hand, It houses important laboratories. “Moderna, for example”, illustrates the interviewee, mentioning a well-known name in Argentina.
Multifaceted and bustling as presented, it is not difficult to infer then that both businessmen as scientists those in charge of combating epidemics join students and teachers y everyone needs housing. It is in the central neighborhoods like Cambridge (where Harvard is), Sommerville, South End and Back Bay, and Brooklineamong others -it is worth saying that unlike other American metropolises, Boston is a city for walking-, where the opportunities for the developer and, by transitive property, new products are found.
As explained in Unoenuno, a firm that is closing the purchase of a building of about 1000 m² for its subsequent remodeling and enhancement, in Boston in particular and in the United States in general, it is better to remodel than build“due to a matter of times and municipal permits, especially in central areas”. In addition, they indicate, much care is required for the facades. “In this framework, there is a dialogue between the old and the new,” says Darío Balan, head of the company, stressing that it is this dialogue that gives the city strong identity.
John Horner
For those seeking stability and profitability
“When the mortgage crisis hit in 2008, property values in Boston fell the least compared to other US cities, such as Miami”, the interviewees respond in chorus when asked about the advantages of this investment compared to other options offered by the northern country, such as the city in the state of Florida. Specifically, at that time, they argue, the values only fell by 5% compared to 50% in which they did in the south of the country.
Asked about Detroit, another alternative available to the potential client, they compare: “Unlike what happens in Boston, which is a place characterized by stability, Detroit is high-risk, unpredictable and long-term.” And in relation to New York, they add: “It offers the same as her, but with a more accessible ticket.” Even, they assert, Boston is positioned due to its proximity to the Big Apple, since it is a few hours from there by train and 50 minutes by plane.
“Definitely, It is an option for a somewhat sophisticated investor, who is looking for profitability and security at the same time.”, they emphasize in Unoenuno, whose project implies the development of apartments for rent for a later sale in block. The investment is about US$8 million and whoever wants to participate can do so starting at US$200,000. In essence, The business offers an annual return that they estimate in the order of 6 to 7%, a percentage that does not include the revaluation of the property. With this item, it amounts to 12%, according to data provided by the company.
“There are European and Asian funds interested in buying these buildings en bloc”, they report in the architecture studio, alluding to investors of Swedish or Hong Kong origin, attracted by rental businesses in the city that have already acquired this type of development.
As they explain, the predictability and consistency of the business is what sustains the interest of investment funds. But in addition to everything, and as the movies show and whoever could have met her agrees, Boston has a plus: it is a city with a liberal and progressive spirit, harmonious, elegant and -although expensive- very, very beautiful.
