Is the Pru Worth 500 of Other Boston Neighborhood Homes?

See how the average property value in your zip code stacks up against other sections of the city.

When people cross they sky bridge between Huntington Ave. and Ring Road, they enter not just the Prudential Center, but one of the city's most valuable zip codes. The Pru itself could fetch $303 million on the open market, according to the city's most recent assessment, but the tiny Back Bay area—just a single block bounded by Huntington Avenue on the south and Boylston Street on the north—contains a total of 37 properties that have been assessed to fetch a total of about $425 million. Excluding the Pru, the average address in the 02199 zip code is worth $3.5 million. With the glitzy businesses and gleaming towers that add to Back Bay's desierability, it shoudln't be a surprise to anyone familiar with Boston's real estate market - or even …

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John Keith

Why Does It Cost So Much to Live in Boston?

It is expensive to rent or buy a home in Boston. This isn't news to any of us who live here. But, why does it cost so much and how can we change this?

According to a recently released study from the Center for Housing Policy, 24% of Massachusetts families are spending as much as 50% of their incomes on housing. This will come as no surprise to those of us living here in Boston. Housing is expensive? This, we know. But, why does housing cost so much and, even more important, how can we fix this? How we got here Boston hasn’t always been a great place to live. Between the 1950’s to 1980’s, the city’s downtown neighborhoods were in decline as the middle class moved to the suburbs.  Things got worse when the busing crisis of the 1970’s led many families with kids to abandon the city. It wasn’t until the late 1980’s and the 1990’s that the city started getting its mojo back. Major crime …

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