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Hull, MA Real Estate Report

Gambling on Real Estate in Hull

By Cindy Bittker, Realtor
Jack Conway & Co.

February 28, 2008

44 Clifton Ave. (Sold) Listed at: $1,030,000

This month, according to Boston Magazine, Hull will attract gamblers -- not to the famous Nantasket Beach legal gambling room, "Fascination", but to Hull's homes and condominiums.

"THE GAMBLE: Hull Looking out from Hull, the view is stunning: sweeps of ocean and Boston twinkling in the distance. The problem has been that from the outside looking in, the view is far less scenic. Now, however, the town is making progress with its schools—buoyed partly by tax revenues from beach lovers bulldozing cottages to build second homes."
(Boston Magazine, March 2008)

Making a few bucks at Fascination was 90% luck and 10% skill. Making a lot of bucks investing in Hull real estate is 90% skill and 10% luck. Prices have dropped back to where they were 5 years ago or more. It's pretty hard to catch a bottom exactly (the 10% luck part), but if you have a long term horizon, in my opinion -- start looking for your home in Hull!! If you have a short term horizon (will need to sell in the next 1-3 years), I'd say to find yourself a nice rental (it's a renter's market, too) and sit this one out. That's how I would place my bet!

Now, I unabashedly admit to a bias toward Boston Magazine as well as toward Hull real estate. Firstly, I am the proud mother of Boston magazine designer and photographer, Diana Levine. Secondly, I am a home owner, real estate investor and Realtor here in Hull at Jack Conway & Co. Biases aside, I am "bullish on Hull" and am, myself, "gambling" in Hull!

Long term, in my opinion, Hull is a "buy." We benefit from the laws of supply and demand. There is plenty of coast line in New England, but very few beaches where homes are built right on the water as we have in Hull. If you do not have direct frontage on the water (and the value of direct waterfront property in Hull benefits from it's own laws of limited supply and demand even here in Hull), you sure are never too far away from the ocean anywhere in Hull. We are 3 square miles of land, with 27 miles of shoreline!

Is Hull a bit of a gamble? Yes. We are a small town community in transition. Almost all of our streets boast a diversity of people, architecture and home prices. It is the rule and not the exception to have a renovated higher priced home next door to an older cottage valued at perhaps 1/3 of their neighboring home. On nearly every street (and I take walks most every day here) I see renovations and expansions in progress or evidence of recent renovations and construction. If you are out of town, ask me to send you some walking routes so you can see for yourself that people are investing in Hull right and left.

There are still neighborhoods with direct waterfront homes in areas with great potential for appreciation. You can find a completely renovated direct waterfront home in the mid $400,000's at the low end or $1,000,000 to $2,000,000-plus at the high end.

Direct waterfront property is in high demand. Direct waterfront tear-downs or fixer-uppers are few and far between. A tear down on Beach Ave. sold recently for $700,000. A tear-down or total rehab on Mt. Pleasant sold recently for $850,000. New construction (3300 square feet of living space) on Beach Ave. sold recently for $1,230,000.

Hull's real estate values had been held back in the past by several factors including Hull's distance to Boston. Hull is close to Boston as the crow flies or the ferry drives, but the commute to I-93 or I-95 is tough during rush hour. With the Greenbush line in action as of late 2007, Hull is now easily accessible to Boston from Nantasket Junction, (1000 parking spaces) in Hingham about 5 minutes away.

Hull's desirability has also been held back by having a stigma as a honky-tonk town. With a steady influx of new residents (some say we've had a 50% turn-over in the past 10 years) more people are recognizing the warmth and charm of our small town, including our unique "cast of characters" and many who have confidence in their vision of the future of Hull are making multi-million dollar investments in Hull: A new Performing Arts Center, new million dollar waterfront condominiums and new companies buying up distressed properties in Hull and converting them to million dollar homes. [link]

These investors with vision and the "gamblers" buying property here are putting their money where their mouths are and changing the future of Hull. It is my prediction that reluctant buyers, over the next 5 years or so, will have wished they had bought into Hull while it was still a gamble.

See what homes are selling in Hull, MA - home of Nantasket Beach

For more information on buying or selling property in Hull, please contact me on MoveToHull.com

 

*All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified. Neither HULLMAgazine.com, Cindy Bittker nor Jack Conway & Co., Inc. shall be responsible for any typographical errors, misinformation, misprints and shall be held totally harmless.