Live, Work, Play in South End

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Considering the close proximity to Boston’s downtown area, it is not surprising that South End real estate makes up one of the most popular communities in the city – with high rents and property values, and a variety of commercial enterprises catering to this developing market. South End real estate owners are a diverse population, including professionals, artists, and families along with a thriving gay and lesbian community. Low-income housing makes the South End a place where people of differing financial circumstances, race, ethnicity, religion, and sexual preference live as neighbors.

There are a surprising number of parks and playgrounds in the heart of Boston. Pictured above is just one in the South End. It is a fairly large playground at that with an adjoining tennis court! The SoWa Art & Design District, on Harrison Avenue, is filled with art galleries and artists’ studios. The South End Open Market, also on Harrison, is where local artists and small businesses sell their wares on Sundays, from spring until fall.

Real estate options here consist of single-family attached homes, attached town homes, and condominiums. However, you will not find many of these single-family attached homes in the South End priced under two million dollars! But, you should still be able to find a studio, one, or two-bedroom condo for three hundred to five hundred thousand. Cars are not necessary for this walking neighborhood. Even Logan International Airport is just a 15-minute ride by taxi/Uber/Lyft.

Boston is a city of neighborhoods by means of annexation. The South end is bordered by Back Bay, Chinatown, and Roxbury and it is distinguished from other neighborhoods by its Victorian style houses and the many parks in and around the area. Access the City of Boston’s official website, including the South End neighborhood. If you have school-age children, South End lies in the Boston Public School district. Its transportation policies are outlined here.

With a comparatively low incidence of street crime, the South End blends the vibrant city feel with the warmth of a small-town community.

To keep up with daily goings on you can check in online with the My South End News, The Patch, or, of course, the Boston Globe, and the Boston Herald. The Boston Courant which serves the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Downtown, Fenway, and South End does not currently have a web site.

If you have a specific property in mind that you think you might like to buy, The City of Boston maintains a database for the City Assessor which you can access to see what value the City gives the property and what the annual taxes are. Boston does offer a residential tax break for primary residences for which you might need to apply after your purchase.

Housing has been running from $300,000 for a studio/pied-à-terre to an extravagant $6,400,000 penthouse. Rentals have run from $1,000 to $10,000 depending upon size, location, and amenities.

The following chart is a visual representation of the cyclical nature of real estate and compares the ups and downs between the neighborhood of South End to the ups and downs of the entire city of Boston. The taller the column the better it is for buyers. The shorter the column the better it is for sellers. Hence 2010 and 2019 were the best times for a buyer to buy in South End. On the other hand, 2005 and 2013-2015 were great years for sellers.

Area Schools

Great Schools provides ratings for most schools in the United States. Below, you can see what schools are near the address you are thinking of buying and then compare it to other neighboring schools.

Learn more about community services in your neighborhood or area in which you might be interested in living simply by entering your street address here.

This next chart shows the number of sales occurring in South End month-to-month, year-to-year since 2018 and provides you a historical overview of the best times to sell – months with the greatest number of sales (spring and fall) – and the best times to buy – months with the fewest number of sales (summer and winter). CAVEAT: there are usually more houses to choose from in the first half of the year.