Overview
Located just a couple blocks south of the Boston Public Garden, Bay Village lies between Back Bay, South End, and the Theatre District. Inside these six square blocks is Boston’s smallest neighborhood officially recognized by the city. Its borders are represented by much busier streets but once you leave Arlington or Charles Street, you enter into a world where the buzz of city fades away. A strategic system of one way streets keeps cut through traffic at a minimum.
With easy access to South End, Back Bay and Midtown alike, many suggest that this location is hard to beat and real estate pricing has historically come at a relative value. For data tracking purposes, we file it within the South End.
$2M+ Luxury Market Data
In 2024, Bay Village only had two sales over $2M, a decline from four in 2023. These two sales amounted to a total sales volume of $5,980,000, with the highest being $3.7M at the 110 Arlington St., Penthouse and the lowest being $2,280,000 at 130-134 Arlington St. It is a little surprising that these two condos were Bay Village’s only sales over $2M, as they are in an unenviable location on a busy street. However, they do provide great access to both Back Bay and the South End and both were newer construction offerings.
Ultimately, this is a steep drop from the past two years, with 2023’s sales volume totaling $15.95M, and 2022’s totaling $48.98M. Interestingly, Bay Village saw zero off-market sales above $2M in 2024.
History
This neighborhood is home to several periods of classic Boston architecture that line Bay Village’s narrow, tree-filled streets. Many of the area’s Federal style townhouses imitate larger Beacon Hill mansions since the carpenters and craftsmen who built the grand houses on the hill erected smaller versions for themselves in this nearby neighborhood. While prominent, this is not the only architectural style featured in the neighborhood. Turn the corner on Fayette Street, to find examples of English Neoclassic architecture or head to Melrose Street and find larger Greek Revival townhouses. In 1865, the City of Boston decided to raise the neighborhood by jacking up the streets, houses, and stores 18 feet above sea level. However, the city decided that back yards only needed to come up to 12 feet. As you walk through the quiet streets, you can find these sunken gardens (6’ below street level) throughout Bay Village.
Neighborhood Specialists
We believe when real estate consumers are presented with a complete and robust spread of data, in conjunction with their personal preferences, decisions can be reached with the most confidence.
To learn more about changing market dynamics moving into 2025 check out our Perspective on the Boston Luxury Housing Market>
