Subtheme: Condo Conversions

In 2023, MAPC released the “Homes for Profit” report about the negative effects of speculation in the Metro Boston housing market by investors, including driving up prices and displacing residents. One thing that investors often do when they buy properties to “flip” them is to convert rental properties into condos. This can have the effect of displacing tenants who can’t afford to buy the properties they were previously renting. In this subtheme, student groups can explore two completely novel datasets of condo conversions in Cambridge and Boston between 2015-2024, looking for spatial and demographic patterns. Did these new condos displace longtime residents? Are condo conversions taking place in particular areas or in communities with particular demographic characteristics? Who are the owners of the condos and are they from the community?

Background Reading

  1. Renters at a brand-new Somerville building surprised by news: Millbrook’s going condo – A local news story about a typical condo conversion story that takes renters by surprise and displaces those who don’t have funds to buy.
  2. Homes for Profit: An Analysis of Investor Activity in the Greater Boston Residential Real Estate Market, 2000 - 2022 – An important report by our partner, MAPC, about the negative impacts of speculation on housing affordability. Uses the residential sales dataset listed below.

Datasets for the Final Projrects

  1. Condo conversions in the City of Boston 2015-2024 – Multifamily and other types of properties that were converted into condos over a 10 year time period. Includes features about the properties before and after the condo conversion.

  2. Condo conversions in the City of Cambridge 2015-2024 – Multifamily and other types of properties that were converted into condos over a 10 year time period. Includes features about the properties before and after the condo conversion.

  3. Residential sales data for Metro Boston, 2000-2023 – Filter this for just Cambridge and Boston so you can compare with condo conversions. All residential sales transactions in Metro Boston between 2000-2023. Includes information about seller, buyer, price, location, and much more.

  4. Geographic data for making maps

Other Creative Data Ideas

  1. Google Street View Data – Google Street View might be an interesting source of photographic data for pre- and post-condo conversions.
  2. News stories – Can you find anything about the condo conversions in local news? Were any of the conversions particularly contentious?
  1. General page on condo conversion protection – This is not specific to the state of MA, but gives some background on what kinds of policies can protect tenants in the context of condo conversions.
  2. Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) – Bills proposed in the Massachusetts House and Senate In order to prevent the displacement that occurs when properties are foreclosed or subject to short sale, this bill would give tenants in these properties a right to purchase the property or assign their right to purchase to a non-profit developer.
  3. The MA Condominium Conversion Act of 1983 – This 1983 act grants protections to tenants from landlords who seek to convert rental units into condos.