First post - South Boston, MA - CMA advice on 824sf condo

[Tim Upton]

First post:

My wife and I are getting ready to list our 824sf 2bed,1bath condo in South Boston, MA. We're working with a realtor we've worked with before and trust but I'm looking for other opinions on this particular market. The CMA our realtor came up with is $449-459k (we paid $275k in 2012). That figure works well for us but what do other people think about the South Boston market? There are only a couple other properties on the market for under $550k. And neither of those were used in our realtor's CMA. He basically comped it against the $550k properties then took what appears to be a subjective discount based on exact neighborhood. I don't want to be greedy by any means and don't want it to sit on the market, but no one wants to leave money on the table. How can you be sure without any good comps?

For context, this is our only rental property and currently cashflows close to $750/mth and we're looking to capture the massive appreciation, free up all the equity which is roughly $200k (currently have heloc but as investment prop could only get a line for 25% of equity), and use the cash to purchase a few other properties outside of the crazy Boston market. The kicker to all this is we've lived in the unit 2 of the last 5 years so we can avoid capital gains by selling in the next year. 

We're waiting to hear back on an offer we made on a duplex outside of the city. If that offer is accepted than we'll have better CF than the one Southie condo and it will tie up a lot less cash so we can continue to expand. So goal is to sell Southie condo, use around 30% of proceeds to purchase a duplex with higher cash flow, and invest the rest in other properties. Regardless, that's our expansion strategy and motivation for selling and I'd love opinions on how pricing works in this market or similarly hot ones. 

Thanks in advance! 

[Jen Kenely]

Hi Tim,

I currently live in South Boston, and have been renting there for over a year now. I've been looking to buy and invest in South Boston, so I have a pretty good idea of values in the area. I'd be happy to try to help you out in terms of value. Feel free to PM me.

All the Best,
Jen