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Our Boston, MA real estate website provides a wealth of information for home buyers and home sellers. Below, you will find information on the history and culture of Boston as well as links to more detailed information such as demographics and schools. You may view a virtual tour, search homes for sale, and access information on different types of properties such as condos, farms, foreclosures, and vacation homes. This website will give you everything you need to buy or sell a home in Boston, MA.
Virtual Homes is a full-service residential real estate company dedicated to providing a wealth of real estate and local community information to home buyers and home sellers. Our agents are ready to assist you with all of your real estate needs.
Boston MA Community Profile & History
Boston, Massachusetts is a historic city of contrasts. Ancient red-brick sidewalks twist past handsome Federalist houses on the way to soaring glass towers housing state-of-the-art finance and high-tech firms. The city's sports teams are among the best loved and the most hated, locally and nationally, at one and the same time. Residents are fiercely protective of their neighborhoods and fiercely critical of the MBTA, the government and the weather. The cultural, economic, political, educational and transportation hub of New England, it is internationally recognized as one of the world's most livable cities, having served as a center for global trade, finance, research, medicine and technology for more than three centuries.
One of the oldest settlements in the United States, the city was founded by Puritan colonists from England in 1630. True pioneers, the new settlers were responsible for establishing America's first public school, the Boston Latin School, in 1635, and America's first college, Harvard, in 1636. The "City On A Hill," so named in a famous speech by founding Governor John Winthrop, would remain British North America's largest until the middle of the 18th century.
The city was to play a crucial role in the American Revolution, serving as the site of the massacre which ignited the conflict between the colonies and England in 1770, the Boston Tea Party, and the Battle of Bunker Hill. Several of America's Founding Fathers hailed from the city and its environs, including "midnight rider" Paul Revere; John Adams, legislator, first Vice President and second President of the United States; rebel leader and statesman Samuel Adams; and President of the Second Continental Congress, first Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and prominent signatory of the Declaration of Independence John Hancock. After the Revolutionary War, the city emerged as a major international trading port, with major exports including rum, fish, salt and tobacco. By the 19th century, the city was home to a number of eminent families comprising America's first social and cultural elites. In the same period, manufacturing superseded international trade as the city's leading industry, and a flood of new immigrants arrived from Europe to work in the new factories. The Irish, Italians and Russian Jews constituted the bulk of new arrivals, and all made vital contributions to the city's cultural and political identity.
Though many of the city's factories would close in the early decades of the 20th century, Boston was now firmly established as a national leader in education, science, politics, commerce and technology, showing no signs of stagnation as the decades wore on. By the latter half of the century, the locally-based Kennedy family came to dominate American politics, while successful efforts at urban renewal attracted a new generation of young professionals. At the same time, the profusion of lovingly preserved historic sites, cobblestone streets and miles of scenic waterfront ensured the city's recent emergence as a major international tourist destination and conference center.The city's scenic harbor is home to both the majestic U.S.S. Constitution, still commissioned to fight America's battles, and scores of sleek white fiberglass pleasure boats. There are tiny restaurants tucked into rosy brick town houses on Beacon Hill and huge restaurants on the dizzying tops of skyscrapers in the downtown. Food ranges from the most radical of nouvelle chic to down-home Cajun.
The city is widely recognized as a leader in higher education, with two of its schools - Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - consistently ranking among the top ten universities in the world. In fact, Harvard University, the oldest in the United States, is almost unanimously ranked #1 on worldwide lists. The city and surrounding region is also home to dozens of other leading colleges and universities, including Boston College, Tufts University, Northeastern University, Wellesley College, Boston University, Brandeis University, the Berklee College of Music, Emerson College and Babson College.
Home to over 600,000 people from every corner of the globe and every conceivable background, the city boasts a remarkably diverse array of cultures, languages, cuisines, and traditions. Residents and visitors alike enjoy authentic Italian cuisine in the North End, excellent options for Chinese and Vietnamese food in Chinatown, and the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade in the traditionally Irish Catholic enclave of South Boston. This is a city where politics is everyone's hobby but sports are taken very seriously; where you can hear six different languages in Filene's Basement in one morning; where the world's largest record store and the stately dome of the Mother Church of Christian Science are in the same neighborhood, and where gilded stone lions and a towering 60-story wedge of glass comfortably rub shoulders.
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Different financing alternatives are available depending on whether you are purchasing a single family, condo, multi-family, or investment property. Understanding the pros and cons of each may help you decide which option is the best for you. Speak to our buyer agent professionals and mortgage partners to understand and evaluate your options.
Boston, MA Real Estate Market Statistics
The following information was extracted from the state-wide MLS system and its accuracy is not guranteed.
Boston Single Family Home Sales Trends:
| Year Days on Market #Sold Average Price Lowest Price Median Price Highest Price |
2006 99 1024 $507143 $150000 $380000 $7500000 |
2007 107 1041 $502258 $125000 $380000 $5000000 |
2008 111 909 $472960 $40000 $349000 $9500000 |
2009 107 914 $436625 $24900 $335000 $7000000 |
2010 89 908 $517616 $45000 $360000 $9350000 |
Average Selling Price of Single Family Homes in Boston
| 2006 |  $507143 | |
| 2007 | $502258 | |
| 2008 | $472960 | |
| 2009 | $436625 | |
| 2010 | $517616 |
Boston Condominum Sales Trends:
| Year Days on Market #Sold Average Price Lowest Price Median Price Highest Price |
2006 108 4366 $446429 $57700 $350000 $4400000 |
2007 107 4525 $494145 $100 $375000 $8250000 |
2008 104 3870 $500498 $19900 $372250 $8500000 |
2009 105 3637 $452852 $500 $348000 $9290000 |
2010 101 3700 $520843 $25000 $370000 $10800000 |
Average Selling Price of Condominiums in Boston
| 2006 | $446429 | |
| 2007 | $494145 | |
| 2008 | $500498 | |
| 2009 | $452852 | |
| 2010 | $520843 |