Harvard Square: a Perfect Place to Buy or Sell a Home
There's a good chance you already know what and where Harvard Square is, but from a real estate perspective it is some of the most prime real estate out there whether you are looking to buy, sell or invest. Harvard Square is desirable firstly because it is mere minutes to much of the Harvard campus. It also has excellent access on the Red Line throughout Somerville, Cambridge and downtown Boston with about a 10-15 minute ride on the T to Park Street Station. There is also extremely limited housing within minutes to Harvard Square, so expect to pay a serious premium to buy here or expect to net a serious premium if you are thinking of selling here.
What is your specific real estate need in Harvard Square?
Scroll down or jump to your specific area of need by clicking one of the options below:
Selling a Single Family in Harvard Square · Selling a Condo in Harvard Square · Selling a Multi-Family in Harvard Square · Selling a Development Opportunity in Harvard Square
Buying a Single Family in Harvard Square · Buying a Condo in Harvard Square · Buying a Multi-Family in Harvard Square · Buying a Development Opportunity in Harvard Square
Selling a Single Family in Harvard Square
If you are looking to sell your single family home in Harvard Square, congratulations, you are likely going to have a great outcome and in most cases, walk away with at least $3M.
As you probably already know, single family homes close to Harvard Square are extremely rare. In fact as of this writing (12/10/2025), only 4 single family homes sold in all of 2025 close to Harvard Square.
You will find your most typical single families end up selling somewhere in the $3M to $4.5M range and if it’s a massive property and/or lot OR if it has special historical significance or unique touches, the sales price could be between $6M to $12M+. That’s a wide range, but there are so many factors that can impact sales price. For example, if you are on a 20,000 square foot lot with pristine gardens and a person of significance previously lived at your home, there’s a good chance your home could land on the upper end of this range. On the flip side, if you have a tiny 1,200 square foot single family home, it may not even sell for $3M…it really just depends.
Before you sell your home, there are multiple steps in the process you must undertake in order to ensure you maximize the resale value of your single family home close to Harvard Square:
What updates need to happen to ensure your home attracts the right buyers for your property?
What staging style and amount of staging needs to happen to create the most buyer interest and excitement for your single family home?
When is the best time to sell based on your unique timeline?
What exterior work needs to take place to show the property in the best light possible
If you are thinking of selling, the first step is to set-up an initial consultation so we can begin to talk through your property’s unique needs. Give me a ring and we can talk through your unique selling scenario at your convenience - my cell is 617-833-7457!
Selling a Condo in Harvard Square
The selling process of a condo close to Harvard Square will vary quite a bit depending on what type of building your property is located in. In my experience, most properties sold under $1M tend to be in medium to large buildings - most typically 12 to 50ish units. Between the $1.5M and up range, I see a mix of medium to large buildings plus a handful of townhouses as well as condos converted from two or three family properties.
When thinking about selling your condo close to Harvard Square, there are multiple factors I like to look at:
What is going on with your association? Are there any special assessments? What about other potential ongoing issues - legal, ongoing work to the building, ownership of multiple units by one owner?
What work needs to be done to your unit to maximize re-sale value?
Is the unit currently rented? If it is, does it make sense to sell occupied as-is or wait for the renter to leave and fix it up? Which will yield the best return?
What about staging - when does it make sense and how much of the unit needs to be staged?
What about timing - when should your condo be sold to maximize buyer interest?
All of these questions will have different answers depending on your building, your unit, your timeline, and your needs. If you are thinking of selling your condo close to Harvard Square, the best next step is to set-up an initial consultation call - my cell is 617-833-7457, please call at your convenience or text me to set-up a time of your choosing!
Recent condo that I helped a client sell in Harvard Square:
1699 Cambridge St, U:50, Cambridge: This seller utilized their condo as an investment for many years, renting is furnished with no vacancies. They reached a point where they were hoping to move the proceeds of this property into a new property closer to them, North of Boston. With my help we were able to extract maximum sales value - we did a lot of work to the unit and also staged the unit. The buyer ultimately fell in love with the look we put together and it is now owner occupied. The seller took the proceeds and put them into an airbnb investment property.
Selling a Multi-Family in Harvard Square
If you are lucky enough to own a multi-family in Harvard Square, I have some good news for you - your property is probably in extremely high demand. Why? In 2025 (as of this writing of 12/10/2025), there was only one multi-family that sold within ½ mile of Harvard Square. That’s right, just one for the entire year.
There just are not a ton of multi-families that sell very close to Harvard Square and when they do, they tend to sell for a lot. The one that did sell in 2025 was 28 Putnam Ave which was priced at $2.495M and ultimately sold for $3.02M - that’s right, over $500k over asking price.
You might be wondering why someone is paying so much for a 3-family if it can’t cash flow at $3M? The answer is that developers are very likely to be interested in your property. The Harvard Square condo market is in extremely high demand and developers are very much interested in buying multi-families at high prices to condoize and sell off individually.
If you have a multi-family close to Harvard Square it’s important to understand:
Is your property best positioned as a pure multi-family purchase or as a development opportunity?
If as a multi-family, should it be delivered vacant or occupied?
If as a multi-family and vacant, what work, if any, should be done to the property?
If as a development, what additional steps should be taken to properly sell the property to prospective developers?
All of these questions will vary depending on the property and precise location, but depending on which actions you take, you can have wildly different outcomes in terms of sales price, so it’s critical that you really thinking through how to best sell the upside of your unique property.
If you are thinking of selling your multi-family property close to Harvard Square, give me a call at 617-833-7457 and we can begin the conversation!
Selling a Development Opportunity in Harvard Square
If you own a property on a large lot close to Harvard Square, particularly a property with at least 5,000 sq ft you may have a prime development opportunity on your hands. You may be asking, how much more can I sell my property for if I sell it as a development opportunity as opposed to as multi-family buy and hold opportunity?
The answer is it can be a HUGE difference? As an example, in 2025 I sold a 3-family located at 60-62 Line St in Somerville. Based on our analysis, the property appeared to be worth about $1.6M at the time of listing as a straight 3-family buy and hold sale.
But we noticed the lot was quite large and ultimately we were able to sell the development upside to a builder, who ended up purchasing the property for $2.45M, that’s right - we sold the development for over 50% more than it would have sold for as a straightforward 3-family sale.
So if you think you may have a development opportunity on your hands, give me a call so we can begin to understand the potential upside! My cell is 617-833-7457.
Buying a Single Family in Harvard Square
If you are thinking of buying a single family in Harvard Square Cambridge, the first thing you should know is there is EXTREMELY limited inventory. As of this writing (12/10/2025) only 4 single families sold within a ½ mile of Harvard Square in all of 2025.
Of those 4 single families that sold, the cheapest one was $3.1M - if you are curious that one was 1715 Cambridge Street. This was a 1845 Greek Revival with 4 beds and 4.5 baths. It had 3,800 square feet but just 2,860 square feet above grade. It also had 3 off-street parking spots, a really nice plus for a single family so close to Harvard Square. In addition this home needed some updates - some of the bathrooms likely need a gut and many, if not all of the windows were older and need to be replaced.
And the most expensive single family home that sold in Harvard Square in 2025? That would be 18 Ash Street which ultimately sold for $7.98M. This is a 5 bed 5.5 bath single family home on a massive 14,400 square foot lot with 5,376 square feet of living space - by Cambridge standards this is MASSIVE - both the lot and living space. This property is in pristine condition and definitely one-of-a-kind. Because of the high price point, the home took 245 days to receive an accepted offer (and it originally was priced WAY higher at $12M, which we often see with homes north of $3M in Cambridge).
So if you are thinking of buying a single family in or close to Harvard Square here are the key things you should know:
Expect 1 or 2 new homes to come up each quarter - there just are very limited single families that are extremely close to Harvard Square
Budget a minimum of $3M - most true single family homes this close to Harvard Square start at $3M and a good range to budget as of this writing is $3M to $5M to start
Decide if you MUST be this close to Harvard Square - single family inventory is extremely small across all of Cambridge but in Harvard Square you may be looking at a 2-4 year search to find a home that works for all of your needs
If you are thinking of buying a single family home in Harvard Square or elsewhere in Cambridge, give me a call at 617-833-7457.
Buying a Condo in Harvard Square
If you are thinking of buying a condo close to Harvard Square, there’s some basics you should understand first. The first is what you can get at different price points this close to Harvard Square if your focus is on a condo.
As of this writing, 12/10/2025, there were 23 condos that sold within a half mile of Harvard Square in 2025. Generally 1-bed condos close to Harvard Square sell in the $550k to $600k range, mostly in medium to large buildings of 12 to 50ish units. 2-bed condos close to Harvard Square sell in the $700k to $850k range and again are typically in medium to large buildings of 12 to 50ish units. If you are looking for a 3 bed condo expect to pay between $1.4M and around $2M - many of these will be in large buildings, but a few townhouses come up each year as well as condos in smaller two to three families, but these are relatively rare very close to Harvard Square. And for the extremely high-end buildings such as University Green located at 130 Mount Auburn St or The Residences at Charles Square at 975 Memorial Dr, you can end up spending between $2M to $8m+ for most high end condos very close to Harvard Square.
So if you are thinking of buying a condo close to Harvard Square, there’s a few things you should think about:
How many bedrooms do you need? And can you afford the Harvard Square premium price that is associated with the bedrooms you need?
What kind of building do you want to be in? If you want a townhouse or a unit count of 3 or less, there’s a good chance your budget needs to be $2M+.
If you are thinking of buying a condo in Harvard Square and want to better understand what is possible, give me a ring at 617-833-7457!
Buying a Multi-Family in Harvard Square
If you are looking to target a multi-family in Harvard Square, my first piece of advice is good luck! :-) All joking aside, there are SO few multi-families that come up very close to Harvard Square, if you are dead set on buying one you might want to set aside 5 years.
As of this writing (12/10/2025), there was just ONE multi-family that sold within a ½ mile to Harvard Square. That was 28 Putnam Ave, a 3-family with 9 beds, 3 baths and 4,219 square feet of living area. All three units are in fine condition, but nothing special - very average in my opinion. All three units were 3 bed 1 baths and the property does have 3 off-street parking spots.
This one was listed for $2.49M and ultimately sold for $3.02M very quickly. You may be asking how could someone possibly pay $3M for this property and cash flow? The answer is they can’t. The most likely buyer is a developer looking to convert all 3 units into condos and sell them.
So if you are looking for a multi-family in Harvard Square, generally my advice is to expand your search area because the pricing is such in this part of Cambridge where the numbers don’t work as a buy and hold and you are competing with deep-pocked developers who have another plan for the property and will pay the seller significantly more than you will be willing to pay. If you are looking to buy a multi-family in Cambridge, give me a ring and we can come up with a strategy based on your unique goals - my cell is 617-833-7457.
Recent multi-family that I helped a client buy in Harvard Square:
27 Line St, Cambridge: This was an off-market 2-family that I helped an investor client purchase. The property was originally listed for many hundreds of thousands of dollars higher and we got a well-below market purchase price. After purchasing, I helped my client make updates to both units and rented them at market rate. I estimate the property has gained between $300k and $500k in equity between the under market purchase and updates we made.
Buying a Development Opportunity in Harvard Square
When we think about buying a development opportunity in Harvard Square, you have to understand that VERY few options come up. Much of this area is owned by Harvard University and there are just very slim pickings. There are opportunities off-market, which we never see on MLS (I know because I have helped clients sell and buy some of these over the years), but there are not a ton each year.
On MLS, only one development opportunity was sold in 2025 close to Harvard Square. That was 28 Putnam Ave that likely is a straightforward condo conversion. It sold for $3.02M and my best guess is the developer who purchased the property will convert each unit into 3 bed 2 bath condos if possible and sell each of them for ~$1.8M each.
If you are looking for development opportunities close to Harvard Square, whether on or off-market, give me a call to discuss at 617-833-7457!
Read more about the selling and buying services that I can provide here:
Above are samples of properties I’ve helped clients sell or buy. Read more about my past work here.
Get the inside scoop on the local real estate market.
Join 1400+ landlords, investors and owners and receive the best tips on how to buy, sell, and manage properties in Cambridge, Somerville and Medford. 100% free, straight to your inbox every month.