Either-Or: A Sparkling Suite in the Back Bay vs. a Vermont Chalet

It’s amazing what a few miles will do to the market. This month, we compare a polished loft on Boston’s most fashionable street with a luxe lodge in the Green Mountain State.


Jessica Howe, courtesy of Tania Wu, Boston Luxury Real Estate (Newbury Street); Jim Mauchly (vermont interiors); Snyder Dongean Real Estate Group (vermont aerial)

360 Newbury Street, #501A, BostonSale Price: $1,320,0001213 Gulf Road, Barnard, Vermont
$1,399,000
56
1,215 square feet
2
2
Asking Price
Days on Market
Size
Bedrooms
Bathrooms
$1,450,000
156
4,836 square feet
5
7

This city knows luxury. But for all the richness at our doorsteps, the country will always have us beat when it comes to wide-open spaces. The limited size of this steeply priced, 1,215-square-foot pad on Newbury Street may help explain why the loft, which features granite countertops and sleek hardwoods aplenty, sold for $79,000 under asking price in October—a true rarity in Boston’s white-hot real estate market.

The house hunters who scooped up this charming Vermont chalet, meanwhile, will enjoy quite a bit more breathing room—4,836 square feet set on 60 acres, to be exact—for the same price. They scored it at a discount, too—a whopping $130,000 was chopped off its original asking price. Their sprawling new home boasts a stone fireplace that’ll dry soaked ski boots in no time, soaring vaulted ceilings, a game room, and several bedrooms with en suite baths. Bonus points for an outdoor fire pit and miles of mountain views with not a neighbor in sight.