Cambridge's Finest: The 5 Most Noteworthy Real Estate Sales in 2023
The Sandrine Deschaux + CO group commanded and sold $42M in residential sales in 2023. The group ranks Top#6 Selling agent in volume of Sales for the year 2023, in Cambridge MA (based on the ranking including Teams).
The first six months of the year were rather highly active, with buyers competing for properties. However, the market shifted again before the summer, especially in June, as the FED decided to increase mortgage rates to curb inflation. Mortgage rates climbed all the way to 8% by the end of September 2023.
The volume of sales is down 20% in 2023 in Cambridge, MA, due to the high interest rates. Homeowners decided to postpone their home search and remain in their homes despite a need for an upgrade because they benefit from a low mortgage rate of 3-4% on their primary residence. The market ended up at a standstill in early November, but the clouds cleared as we approached the holidays.
Maria Perez and I are proud to have handled and facilitated the purchase and sale of many properties and serviced the rental listings of our clients. We sold 20 homes and rented no fewer than 22 units this year.
Our fastest and most extraordinary Sales of 2023.
The Brand-New Homes at 12 Fayette Street, Mid Cambridge
The fastest and most extraordinary sales of the year occurred at 12 Fayette Street, Cambridge, MA 02139. These Mid Cambridge listings were the most exciting properties and condominiums sold in Cambridge in 2023, commanding the fastest action from the market. An Offer to Purchase was obtained within a few hours after the first showing, and both houses went under agreement way over asked after the first and only showing.
The two houses located on a large site at tree-filled 12 Fayette Street were developed and built by the most accomplished Cambridge residential development firm ZRE Development. The team hired interior designer Amy Lynn Interiors [Instagram @amylynn_interiors] to create luxurious, one-of-a-kind, elevated, and design-forward houses. The Boston Home Magazine recognized this and wrote a wonderful article about the property. Read the article that the Boston Magazine wrote about these beautiful homes.
The work of the Sandrine Deschaux + Co was to relay the level of craftsmanship and luxury into the staging, creating a universe of quiet luxury, comfort, and softness. We briefed and hired a crew for staging, asking for a Parisian + Haussmann Vibe with organic shapes. Additionally, we asked local Cambridge artist and painter, Susan Coley, whose studio is located in East Cambridge, and represented by the Galerie d’Orsay located at 33 Newbury Street in Boston, to grace our walls with some of her large-scale paintings.
12 Fayette Street Front, the Mansard Victorian, sold $300K over the asking price, and 12 Fayette Street Rear, the Modern Home, sold for $200K over the asking price. And both sales occurred in just one day!
Our most long-awaited Sales of 2023.
32 Gorham Street, Somerville I Davis Square
The most awaited sale was at 32 Gorham Street in Somerville. The single-family at 32 Gorham Street was last rebuilt in 2016 by a builder with a sunny and generous interior, entertainment-size living areas, and the functionality of a well-crafted high-end kitchen. This address is a sought-after location on a one-way street just a 5-minute walk to Davis Square.
This single-family home was owned by a couple in their mid to late 30s with eclectic furniture, traditional heirlooms, and handmade pieces. We decided to neutralize the colors, the style and repurpose some of the rooms. The guest suite became the kids’ bedroom, and the art studio/office room became a conventional bedroom.
We prepared the house at the very beginning of the year, including touch-up paint, new knobs, exterior railing repairs, etc., and styled the property with more modern furniture. The strategy was to trigger the sale as soon as the market was showing some positive energy and the burgeons start appearing. Why wait? The owners had a green thumb, and the yard with a pergola and a patio with a firepit looked magical.
After the first weekend, we received four competitive bids, and the property sold $200K over the asking price, nearly 10% over asking. It was definitely worth the wait! Timing was impeccable.
The Best Makeover of 2023
28 Gorham Street U1, Cambridge, MA 02138
The owners of this Cambridge condominium at 28 Gorham Street U1 in the Agassiz Cambridge neighborhood decided to extensively renovate the interior before selling it to maximize their investment. The kitchen and bathrooms were smartly renovated, keeping them consistent with the style of the building era, modern with some gracious elements of old-world style.
The Sandrine Deschaux + Co Team was consulted, along with other highly successful Cambridge real estate agents and teams and landed the business.
The Sandrine Deschaux + Co group suggested to the owners to work on the exterior, as this would be a very strong feature and element of the sale. We worked on creating a private leafy patio area, ordering evergreens and Schip Cherry laurels to shield the patio area from the streetscape and create a green outdoor refuge. The Sandrine Deschaux + Co group also convinced the owners to hit the market rather than try on their own.
This high-priced 2-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom condominium in a 3-unit Victorian building next to Harvard Divinity School sold for $1,390,000 in 2023, $125K over asking, at an incredible $1,120/sf.
What the homeowners say about this sale: “My husband and I had the absolute pleasure of working with Sandrine when we retained her to sell our cherished condo in Cambridge. When we first met Sandrine, we knew immediately that she would be the perfect person to sell our home - and we were right! Her enthusiasm, effervescence, creativity, knowledge of the market - in terms of pricing, staging, buyers, timing, and more - were invaluable. She always went above and beyond, providing great attention to detail and responsiveness to any questions we had. In addition to all these wonderful qualities, we credit Sandrine with our sales price soaring well over our asking price. I heartily recommend Sandrine.”
The Best Fixer-Upper: A Queen-Anne Style Victorian home on Prime Address.
27 Hurlbut Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Such a beautiful street and prime address, just one block to Massachusetts Avenue, surrounded by classic historic homes and old-growth trees, and a quick stroll to Harvard Law, Harvard, and Porter Squares. This family of four made the jump to build their dream home, and they did!
In a street where historic sizable properties have been selling in the $2M range for quite a while, this was a no-brainer. We negotiated the price $250K below asking price though! How long did we house hunt together? Probably a year maybe longer! So much worth the wait!
The Shortest House Hunting of the Year. 4 Months to Offer.
30 Jay Street U3, Cambridge MA, Riverside
Bill and Laura were referred by a client of mine, and as we met around a glass of wine as we were about to enter Summertime, we discussed a target date of Spring 2024 for a new home. They moved from California in the Spring of 2023 and were hooked to a one-year rental agreement. So we had time. That was without counting on the methodological analytic-driven approach of those two. The market was tight for what they were looking for, a house or townhome for the two of them, but big enough to accommodate visiting grown-up children and entertain their social network.
The market was tremendously tight in the midst of the Summer, so I had to resort to reaching out to local players – from developers to agents - and show off-market and coming soon properties. None of those properties were of interest enough to proceed with a fast offer, but it allowed them to learn the ropes of the local market throughout the Summer.
And, of course, 30 Jay Street U3 in Cambridge, an attached townhome with a 12’ high ceiling living room, came up on the market, and it was love at first sight online and then confirmed as we stepped in, probably the first to view this architecturally striking home rooftop deck. The property was priced below market price to generate bids. The listing agent received 3 offers. We had to make a quick, inspired, and well-carried decision to land the property. We purchased it for $2,230,000 and were told that we bid up the 2nd offer for no more than $5K. Hooray.4
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The Sandrine Deschaux + Co group takes pride and ownership in the success of every sale. They demonstrate ultimate attention to details, editing staging, directing photo sessions at times, and developing new media and marketing tools catered to the buyer's target pool.
Watch here all the properties the group helped purchase, market and sell in 2023. Contact Sandrine Deschaux to plan for your purchase and sale in 2024.
