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:

  1. Is your property best positioned as a pure multi-family purchase or as a development opportunity?

  2. If as a multi-family, should it be delivered vacant or occupied?

  3. If as a multi-family and vacant, what work, if any, should be done to the property?

  4. 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!