The idea that condos aren't a good investment is dependent on where you are geographically . In some markets they're great, in others they're riskier. In Cambridge and Somerville you'll be fine.

Condos however can be a pain with families because you have to deal with an HOA usually. Sometimes, it can be not a big deal, if the HOA is easy going. Other times it can be a nightmare.

Condos in Cambridge have historically preformed very well compared to SFH in Cambridge. We’ll see if upzoning has any impact on that in the future.

Our family has lived in a condo here for over a decade and raised children with our any problem. Our neighbors are part of their community and it is wonderful.

In general my feeling is the smaller the HOA, the less headaches. I would not want to be in a triplex with neighbors above or below with small children, but side by side is fine. If you have a shared wall, there is a bit of unknown there until you move in. However, unless you’re buying a SFH in west Cambridge, you’re going to have neighbors in close proximity. That’s just part of living in a city. Don’t feel forced to make an offer at an open house or site unseen. Make sure your real estate agent knows you want to have a private showing to assess how sound transfers in your unit. Review the HOA docs and capital and annual budgets. Make sure you have access to outdoor space with kids. Such as a deeded yard (no matter the size), low traffic shared driveway or parking lot, parks and playgrounds within walking distance.

> I know from a general economic standpoint there is an idea that condos do not appreciate as well as SFH and are not as solid of an investment.

LOL. I put 10% down on my condo and paid PMI for 13 months before I refinanced for ten percent more equity. Buying a condo here is basically printing money.

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AND WE SHOULD BUILD MORE OF THEM. EVERYWHERE. AND TALL. AND ON TOP OF TRAIN LINES. AND TEAR DOWN SINGLE FAMILY HOUSES TO DO IT.

Don’t recommend thinking/worrying about appreciation. Appreciation in this market is tied to factors you can’t anticipate (incomes in tech/biotech/finance jobs in Kendall / downtown Boston).

My only complaint so far has been old house problems. It’s a duplex so I can’t toss problems to the hoa, I am the hoa. So I’ve had to learn a lot about maintaining an old house, and plan fixes for things that need fixing.

Edit: also if you look at tax rates and the residential exemption you’ll find that you save a lot of money there compared to the suburbs. Cambridge especially, damn near zero property tax

Bought one of two condos in a former single family on the border of Camberville a little over a year ago now with my now-fiancee and dog who is probably similar size and weight to your small human child.
I second the consensus of other commenters that condos in Camberville will still be a decent investment. This is something I heard from almost any long-term Boston area resident we spoke to prior to purchasing.
As far as noise, HOA, etc goes, I think this is very situational. We got lucky with our upstairs neighbors (bought same time, similar demographic to us) because we both don't really care about a strict HOA and just talk to each other if we want to do house / property work. The noise isnt much different to a similarly dense Camberville neighborhood and if you hear your upstairs neighbors or not depends on them as well as your insulation.

Regrets? No! Having lived in a (non-local) more car-dependent suburb before, I much much prefer a smaller living space in a more walkable, dense urban neighborhood.

> I know from a general economic standpoint there is an idea that condos do not appreciate as well as SFH and are not as solid of an investment.

This doesn't seem to apply to this market at all.

> People also have issues with HOAs, noise, etc.

Potentially a problem. My condo just has two units, and so I am most of the HOA. It still means the other owners can veto new projects, but managing something like this is pretty essay.

Noise; nailed down hardwood floors are going to conduct a lot of noise, and there generally isn't a lot of sound proofing in older construction. New construction or recently renovated stuff can be better, but it is difficult to evaluate. You should definitely ask about what sound proofing ha been done.

Shared walls, as opposed to shared floors, are easier to soundproof generally. Mostly because they don't have people stomping on them.

> Any regrets not moving to an inner suburb instead?

Everything has plusses and minuses. But no, not really. I love being able to walk and bicycle with my kids every where more than anything I would gain from a suburb.

Realtor here - I’ve seen unreal returns for condos, especially 3-4 beds. A year ago I saw a condo that gained about $600k in value in a 5 year span in e cambridge. What you’ll find is 1-2 beds generally appreciate at a lower rate.

Biggest mistake families make when buying condos is not purchasing with enough room for growth. Make sure you have space for the kids plus yourself plus work at home space for at least the next 5 years.

You don’t want to be in a situation where you have to move after two years because you’ve run out of space. Good luck!

Plenty of people do on the reg

Not necessarily your fault OP, but housing should really not be looked at through an “investment” lens

Does the place you’re looking to live fit the needs of your family? Can you afford it?

I bought a condo in 2015 and it was the correct decision. Stuff breaks, I’ve got to deal with my condo neighbors, and all the usual home ownership stuff, but I’m still glad I did it. I’m friends with most of the people in my building, there’s zero chance of my mortgage payment increasing, and my housing is stable. Even if it didn’t appreciate in value, which it does, I still make money in equity by paying down the principle every month.

Ultimately, you have to decide what’s right for you. Every case is different.

I bought my condo in Somerville 10 years ago and it's doubled in value despite very little being done in the way of renovations. Go on Zillow or any of those websites and look at the price history of some of these condos, I think you'll find that it is a pretty solid investment. HOA and noise are kind of an annoyance but I'm willing to deal with it to live in a convenient and cool urban setting. I think buying a place in the suburbs or more rural is a riskier investment; demand for housing in dense urban neighborhoods will always be there.

I bought in Cambridge 12 years ago and it's more than doubled in value. It's one of two units in a wood-frame house.

We haven't had any problem with the HOA. There's only the two of us, so if you're both personable and reasonable people you can make things work. Of course, if one of you is unreasonable, that could of course be a problem.

We haven't had issues with family noise because we were both roughly the same age -- they had kids, then we had kids, then their (now) renters moved in and had kids, so everyone understands kid noise.

I have heard of condo-mates who can't stand kid noises, in this case they were older people, though I don't know that that's always the demographic. I don't really understand that. If you're going to live in a condo, you're going to hear the other people. If you want to live out in the country, go live in the country.

Many families live in Camberville in condos. It’s nice to be in a duplex or triplex with other families as they can be more understanding about family issues. We lived in a condo for 3 years with our child. We since moved to a single family also in Somerville. SF comes with more expenses and you have to shoulder the cost alone but on the other hand I only have to deal with my spouse in property decision making. I wouldn’t move to the burbs just to have a SF, as I much prefer my car independent life here.

There aren’t too many, but you may be able to find a detached condo which can be the best of both worlds. Generally the detached units are in the back of the lot also, which could be great with a kid to keep away from the street!

Did it on my own. The traffic and noise alone is unbearable. Probably eventually sell and move further out lol

For us it has been a total win — and I say that as someone who lives below a child. Financially, we have already built a lot of equity through criminal levels of appreciation in housing values.

Cambridge and Somerville are cities. The vast majority of people live in condos. They appreciate just as much as SFHs.

So, we were lucky enough to be in a position to buy about a dozen years back and snagged the top floor of a duplex that had just been converted to condos. On the whole, great experience. Value has doubled over the last decade (which seemed to mostly be in line with the rest of Cambridge). As others have pointed out, Cambridge has low tax rates and a tremendously attractive residential exemption.

Noise can be an issue in old houses but we've always just thought of it as a part of city-living and have (mostly) been lucky enough to have neighbors who feel the same way. Maintenance is certainly a thing but I honestly sort of dig being responsible for it and take a weird amount of early-onset-old-man-pride in fixing things myself (...when possible).

Only suggestion I might have would be to possibly prioritize a 3-unit HOA over a 2-unit HOA. If you're in a 2-unit situation, you're sort of stuck really just hoping that the other unit-owner is going to be a thoughtful, reasonable neighbor. If you've got a third in the mix, chances are at least one of the two will be solid citizens. We've mostly been very lucky with the folks comprising the other half of our HOA (our current neighbors are swell) but there was a short period of time during which we were paired up with another owner who had severe struggles with mental health and that occasionally made our home life a little less than comfortable.

It depends. Will Cambridge, Somerville and Boston metro in general continue its restrictive, de facto racist, housing policies that forbid most new homes? Will the Boston life sciences, IT, and other industries continue to experience growth and pay high wages? If so, then yes, condo prices will likely continue to appreciate.

Just don't kid yourself what sort of system you are participating in when you ask questions about wanting homes to continue to appreciate in price.

https://www.compass.com/agents/nick-schmalensee

Hit me up anytime and I’d be happy to talk through the potential pitfalls. Zero pressure. Source: I work for the top team at the top office in Cambridge.

Market is changing fast!