BOSTON – Boston Realty Advisors, the Boston area’s largest independent real estate brokerage, and its associated companies including Advisors Living finished the year 2021, the firm’s 20th anniversary, with a record number of completed transactions, more than 750 sales and leases of commercial and residential properties in the Greater Boston area -- and more than $1 billion in total volume.
Transactions included the final sales of the luxury condominiums at record per-square-foot prices at Pier 4 in the Seaport, developed by Tishman Speyer, all 106 units selling at an average price of $3.5 million. The two penthouses each sold for more than $4,100 per square foot, a Boston record for a residential building not under the umbrella of a hotel brand.
The high-end sales of Pier 4 residences, on the historic site of Anthony’s Pier 4 restaurant on Boston Harbor, for the first time pushed 2021 per-square-foot prices substantially past those of Boston’s Back Bay and Beacon Hill, historical leaders in residential sales in Boston.
Boston Realty Advisors’ and Advisors Living’s total 2021 sales volume, not including fees for leasing and consulting, exceeded $1 billion for the first time.
That included more than $612 million in residential resales for Advisors Living, about $270 million for Advisors Living’s sales of new development units, including Pier 4, and more than $400 million in Boston Realty Advisors’ closed or pending sales of commercial properties.
Resales of homes by Advisors Living reached 202 in 2021, pushed higher by more than 30 new agents added to the Advisors Living team, new offices being opened in Boston’s suburbs, and some highly experienced leadership added to the seasoned Advisors Living team. Those factors led total resales of homes to exceed $600 million during the year.
The single highest sales price for a property sold by a Boston Realty Advisors entity was 557 Highland Ave. in Needham, for $57.5 million, in a transaction that was jointly brokered.
“We were thrilled to have a record-breaking 2021 for our firm,” said Jason Weissman, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Boston Realty Advisors. “We will continue the strong momentum in 2022 as we bolster and strengthen our team through our recruiting initiatives.”
Boston Realty Advisors and Advisors Living continues in the market in 2022 with some of the premium developments in New England, including 100 Shawmut in the South End, The Mark in East Boston, and Stratus Residences in Brighton, as well as The Village at Bailey’s Pond in Amesbury, Millwood Preserve in Framingham, and Terrazza in Wellesley.
Overall, and including the Pier 4 success, sales of residences in new-construction properties also hit a record for Advisors Living, reaching 583 units and about $270 million in volume.
Commercial leasing transactions for Boston Realty Advisors numbered 112 transactions, constituting 569,808 square feet over the year. BRA represented many of Boston’s premier landlords, including The Druker Company, The Davis Companies, and Synergy.
The Capital Markets Group of Boston Realty Advisors was a broker or advisor on more than 34 transactions that closed during the year, totaling $214 million. Moving into 2022, the Group is under contract to market 38 more properties or portfolios totaling more than $437 million in value.
The Capital Markets Group is currently in the market with 2 Newbury St., a prime Back Bay retail and office property owned and now occupied by luxury clothing maker Burberry.
Boston Realty Advisors signed 35 leases on the retail front and sold 10 retail properties.