Porter Square: a Perfect Place to Buy or Sell a Home
Porter Square is right on the Cambridge/Somerville line. First, you have a red line T stop, creating easy access to downtown Boston and other parts of Cambridge. Next, you have the Porter Square Shopping Center, which includes a 24-hour CVS and Star Market grocery store. All along Mass Ave you have tons of restaurants and cafes as well. You are also just a few minutes away from Lesley University. Finally, you are just minutes to the Neighborhood Nine area of Cambridge, one of the most beautiful areas in Cambridge to walk around year round!
What is your specific real estate need in Porter Square?
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Selling a Single Family in Porter Square · Selling a Condo in Porter Square · Selling a Multi-Family in Porter Square · Selling a Development Opportunity in Porter Square
Buying a Single Family in Porter Square · Buying a Condo in Porter Square · Buying a Multi-Family in Porter Square · Buying a Development Opportunity in Porter Square
Selling a Single Family in Porter Square
If you take some time to look at recently sold single families in Porter Square, one thing that sticks out is the condition of a lot of these homes, especially those selling for less than $1.5M.
Many of the properties hit the market with clearly no or little updates made to the property. I believe this is a huge mistake that is costing sellers often 10 to 20% of resale value. Don’t be one of those sellers!
If you have a single family in Porter Square, please make sure you are doing everything you can to properly prepare your home for sale to market the property to the largest audience possible which ultimately will translate to much higher prices than equivalent homes who didn’t do the hard work of making their home shine prior to listing!
If you are considering selling your single family in Porter Square, give me a call at 617-833-7457 to discuss!
Selling a Condo in Porter Square
The reality is there are many, many dozens of condos that sell every single year in Porter Square. Close to 100 sold in 2025 of various sizes and condition in and order Porter Square.
The difference between a property getting an OK price and a slam dunk price comes down to a few things:
How did you prepare the property for sale? The reality is if you start looking through many of the recently sold condos in Porter Square you will notice many units go on market with virtually NO updates or preparation. These sellers are leaving substantial money on the table, most of the time we are talking 10 to 20% in value GONE!
Did you stage the property? Not all sellers are in a position to stage the property but a well staged property will further increase the value of the property and is an excellent ROI. In addition, I have sold multiple staged properties in 2025 where the buyers specifically wanted to BUY the furniture from staging - in other words, they fell in love with the property because they loved how it looked. Let that sink in for a second…if the property was not staged that buyer may not have had ANY interest in the unit!
Did you price it right? Properties that sit lose leverage in the offer negotiation process and always end up landing at lower prices compared to those that generate substantial interest. I know the difference between a negotiation going well and one falling off the rails. Don’t be that seller!
If you have a condo in Porter Square and want to ensure that you are getting the absolute best sales price you can, give me a ring and we can figure out how to set your unit up for success! My sell is 617-833-7457.
Recent condos that I helped clients sell in Porter Square:
20 Rindge Ave, Unit 3: This was a 3-bed investment grade condo that if we sold as-is would have sold for much, much less than where it ultimately landed. After the renters lease expired we went into the unit and made substantial updates to the unit but at an extremely reasonable cost given the work we covered. We then staged the unit and converted what was once an investment unit into a true owner-occupant quality unit. The result? Multiple owner occupants interested in the condo and ultimately a one-weekend sale at a very strong price point!
25 Rindgefield St, Cambridge: This seller client had rented his condo in North Cambridge as an investment for some time. However he was spending more and more time in Europe and it was making less and less sense to continue to operate as a landlord overseas. We worked together to properly prepare and market the unit. With our strategic pricing we created a bidding war which ultimately resulted in over a half dozen offers and a very strong accepted offer WELL over asking with virtually no contingencies! The seller was thrilled with the outcome and is enjoying his retirement in Europe!
Selling a Multi-Family in Porter Square
One of the most important things to think about when selling a multi-family in Porter Square is to understand potential. Let me explain what I mean here.
Most seller agents who work on multi-families have never rented a property in their lives OR they have rented a handful over the last few years. If you are thinking of hiring a seller’s agent to sell your multi-family who doesn’t have an expertise understanding of the rental market you are leaving serious money on the table. Why?
Because investor buyers primarily want to understand one thing - how much can they get in fair market rent for your rental units? The more rent the prospective buyers can get, the more they are willing to pay.
So this is where someone like me comes in - I have rented over 700 units in Cambridge and Somerville and very much understand rental values. Not only that, I understand how you can make updates to units to increase rental value - things like adding laundry in-unit, dishwashers, building out a second full bathroom, or modernizing the unit in many other ways can have a substantial impact on the resale value of your property.
I can explain the updates the new buyers need to make and what that will mean for their bottom line. When buyers understand what they need to do and how that impacts rental value, it translates to substantially higher sold prices.
So if you are thinking of selling your multi-family in Porter Square, let’s talk! My cell is 617-833-7457!
Selling a Development Opportunity in Porter Square
Many landlords in Cambridge believe they have an excellent development opportunity on their hands. The reality is, if you own a multi-family in Porter Square, there’s a high chance it will be sold as a multi-family and not a development opportunity.
Of course there are exceptions to this - if you own a property on a large lot, as in 7,500 square feet or larger, there is a chance that we could sell it as a development. And selling as a development often will yield 50% or higher sales prices compared to selling as a straight up buy and hold investment.
So if you own a property on a large lot of land, whether a single family or multi-family, make sure you do your homework to ensure you aren’t leaving substantial money on the table. Give me a ring and we can talk through your unique property and unique situation. My cell is 617-833-7457!
Buying a Single Family in Porter Square
One of the neat things about Porter Square is it’s right on the Cambridge and Somerville lines, so if you are thinking of buying a single family and it’s close by to Porter Square the purchase price is going to vary a lot depending on which side you are on. Pretty much across the board expect to pay substantially more for the Cambridge side.
The plus side about single families in Porter Square is there are actually a lot of options so if you are deadset in owning a single family in Cambridge this is a good place to target. The rough part is expect to pay for it - for many homes that means paying $3M+.
If you want to purchase a single family in Porter Square, here’s how I think about pricing:
First you have the mini homes that are typically 1,200 sq ft are smaller. These are usually 2 or 3 bed small houses and they tend to be $750k to $1M. Often times they aren’t in great shape and need some love.
Next up, you occasionally can find fixer upper single families. These tend to go very quickly and only one or two tend to come up each year. These could be 3 or 4 bed fixer upper homes in either Cambridge or Somerville walking distance to Porter Square. These often go for around $1.2M to $1.5M (at least as of this writing 12/11/2025).
Then you have your nice, updated homes - some of these are on the Somerville side, but many are in Cambridge in the Avon Hill neighborhood. These are often 2,200 to 3,000 square feet of living space in very good shape. Most are victorians and they typically have 4 or 5 bedrooms. Expect to pay mid $2Ms up to around $3M.
Finally you have what I call your “stunner” Avon hill victorians. These are usually 3,000 to 5,000 square foot large victorian homes on large lots with insane curb appeal and beautiful finishes inside and out - stained glass, beautiful gardens with mature trees, gazebos, massive porches, and on and on…all typically pristine. These homes are truly gems and typically start at $4M and go up from there…one sold for $18M in 2025 to give you a feel for how high these properties can go. Some of the most special homes in all of Cambridge for sure!
If you are considering a purchase in Porter Square, whether Cambridge or Somerville, give me a ring and we can go over what is realistic and how to make it happen! Call me at 617-833-7457!
Buying a Condo in Porter Square
There are just a ton of condos sprinkled all across Porter Square on both the Somerville and Cambridge lines. In fact, there were 97 that sold in 2025 as of this writing (12/11/2025). One thing that’s really nice about the Porter Square section of Cambridge and Somerville is you have a nice mix of condo housing types - so whether you want to be in a small 6 unit association OR a 50-unit complex OR a detached townhouse OR a condo in a two unit association, there will likely be multiple options for you that consistently come available during the prime buying seasons in the spring, summer and fall.
In terms of what you can get in Porter Square when it comes to condos, expect to pay around $500k to $750k for a 1-bed, and a tick below that for a studio - think mid $400s. You may be able to get a dated 2-bed in the $600s, but nice 2-beds typically go for $800k to $950k. 3-beds that are dated and on the smaller side start at $1M but can easily go north of $2M for high-end options with over 2,500 square feet of living area. Generally 4-beds start around $1.5M and luxury 4-beds can go as high as mid to upper $3Ms.
This is all based on 2025 so if you are thinking of buying a condo in Porter Square, give me a ring and I am more than happy to help walkthrough your unique situation. My cell is 617-833-7457.
Recent condo that I helped a client buy in Porter Square:
21 Lancaster St, U:A: My clients wanted to be in Avon Hill but their budget was limited to around $1M. They also wanted over 1,000 square feet and Cambridge charm. That can be challenging in a neighborhood like Avon Hill, but after a ton of searching we stumbled on this property and were able to come to a deal with the sellers. Since then, my clients have made a number of updates to their unit and I believe the home is worth well over $100k more than they paid for it. A wonderful street and place to live AND a great long term personal investment!
Buying a Multi-Family in Porter Square
If you are thinking of buying a multi-family in Porter Square, it’s important you have a sense of what you’ll need to budget. Less updated 2-families generally start around $1.3M and go to around $1.5M (unless they are quite large, think well north of 3,000 square feet).
More updated 2-families that could also be utilized as owner occupied units or are just really nice and command higher rents generally go for around $1.7M to $1.9M as of this writing.
Large 2 or 3-families in good condition that are say 3,500 to 4,500+ square feet in Porter Square often will command between $1.9M to $2.1M as of this writing.
Of course, the market is always changing depending on where rents are, where interest rates are, and how strong buyer demand is and how desperately sellers want to sell at any given time. So if you are thinking of purchasing a multi-family and want a better understanding of what you’ll need to budget and what you’ll get at this moment in time, give me a call at 617-833-7457 to discuss!
Buying a Development Opportunity in Porter Square
Like many of the other prime neighborhoods in Cambridge/Somerville such as Harvard Square, Central Square, Davis Square or Cambridgeport, most development opportunities do not happen on MLS.
Very frequently, they are sold prior to ever hitting the market. I have cultivated a large network of landlords in Porter Square and throughout Cambridge and Somerville as well as many other agents, wholesalers, property managers etc who often come to me when opportunities come up.
If you are looking for a great development deal in Porter Square or other areas within Cambridge or Somerville, give me a call 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.
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