Why are home prices so high in Boston? According to one Boston Globe reader, "The problem is David Bates..."

What could possibly provoke such a comment? What could make someone attribute the results of an entire market to just one person?

Is it the product of an internet troll spewing hatred and blame?

Or maybe its intent is more positive, originating from one of the happy homeowners Dave represented, who quickly and almost effortlessly received a sale price that was more than their listing price. Like, for instance, the owner of the condo at 227 Summit Ave, Brookline, whose condo attracted a sale price that made it the highest selling one-bedroom in the history of the Brookline MLS.

Then again, could it be the insight of someone intimately familiar with the inner workings of the Greater Boston real estate market, whose goal was to point out William Raveis broker associate David Bates' stature as one of the most important people in Boston real estate? If that were indeed the case, what is it about Dave's real estate past that might lead someone to believe he can provoke record-setting prices in today's Greater Boston markets? Let's explore.

It's true that more than two decades ago, Dave Bates started in the most competitive market in Boston real estate, rentals. Then, just a few years later, he bought into and grew a Brookline residential real estate office from three agents to more than thirty, making it one of the largest volume sales offices in the Hub at the time.

It's also true that Dave Bates created and presented First Time Home Buyer and Real Estate Investment seminars that not only attracted thousands of local real estate enthusiasts but more importantly, empowered many to buy their first properties.

Perhaps those accomplishments alone-- empowering agents, buyers, and investors--should have put Dave on a Boston Real Estate VIP list.

But then Dave did some things to improve the quality of life of not just buyers but sellers as well.

In building his listing representation skill set, Dave didn't just seek to represent the homes of past customers or close friends or the acquaintances of former clients. Instead, he took on two of the most challenging selling demographics in all of real estate, demographics that other agents shiver in fear when asked about: people who didn't think they needed a professional real estate agent to sell their home (For Sale by Owners) and people whose home had failed to sell with other agents and brokerages (expired listings). Dave's approach in these areas saw success for sellers on Marion Street in Brookline, on Mount Vernon Street in Beacon Hill and on Gladstone, Prescott, and Princeton Streets in East Boston -- as well as a number of other representations and communities. What was it about his marketing and approach that made the market move?

Dave's ability to successfully represent homes when other brokers failed to get the job done continues to this day. In January 2020, a date that is significantly out of season for the Boston rental market, Dave represented the owner of a $17,000-a-month luxury rental in Boston's Seaport that had failed to rent with the listing services of another agent. A short time later, the owner had a financial executive as a tenant. It was the second $17,000+ rental that Dave did in the Seaport in Q4, a time when no other agent did even one in that market.

But Dave's true forte isn't rentals but sales. Dave's sales production has won him many awards with three different real estate brands, including Prudential, Sotheby's, and William Raveis Real Estate, the largest family-owned brokerage in the Northeast. All large and high-end firms.

A number of years back, always interested in improving his and other folks' understanding of the local real estate market, Dave started authoring what would arguably become the most popular real estate column in Boston, "Bates by the Numbers." Curbed Boston's editor subtitled the column, "Trends you otherwise would not see."

What clearly made Dave's column different was that its original and exclusive insights had merit. As a result, Dave's views and breakdowns were followed by many of Boston?s most important real estate leaders. Additionally, Dave was regularly quoted by any media source working on stories about the Boston real estate market, including The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, Boston Magazine, and Bloomberg News.

As far as writing is concerned, it's hard to ignore that Dave once wrote a 3,000-word assessment of the man he viewed as the Hub's worst landlord. A few months later, that landlord was the subject of a major investigation by the Boston Globe Spotlight team. Simply put: one guy, William Raves broker associate Dave Bates, beat the most acclaimed and if you will, most heralded investigative journalists in the area to the biggest real estate story of the year.

On another occasion, he was asked by Boston Magazine to pick the next Boston real estate hot spot. Two years later, another publication affirmed that Dave's public choice was indeed the hottest neighborhood in Boston. Mark it under "trends you otherwise would not see."

Additionally, on May 31, 2017, Dave posted, "Why Boston Needs Much More Housing Than Previously Reported or Planned For." It took until October of 2018, before the mayor revised his housing plan. That month, 15 mayors in Greater Boston announced the region was in the midst of a housing emergency.

Over the years, Dave has had many moments where he was the real estate embodiment of the famous Wayne Gretzky quote "his success relied on skating not to where the puck was but where it would be."

But how does Dave do it?

Does he use magic? Does Dave have a real estate crystal ball? Perhaps he has inside information?

Dave refuses to respond to questions on the dark real estate arts and prefers to emphasize his residential real estate education and experience--as well as his intense desire to see his clients get what they want and deserve--as the reasons behind his successes.

Dave has worked with buyers and sellers with goals as diverse as the New England weather in Boston, Brookline, and a host of other Hub communities. He has represented for sale single-family homes, townhouses, condominiums, and multifamily homes. He has also successfully sold and represented new construction, condominium conversions, and portfolio selloffs.

To learn more about Dave, subscribe to his YouTube channel, Boston Real Estate Secrets. If you want to talk or meet with Dave about your own real estate situation, there is absolutely no obligation to use him as your agent. You can reach him at (617) 413-6345 or [email protected]

Some of Dave's New Construction and Condo Conversion representations and sales: Station Street, Brookline Hamlet St, Somerville, Aspinwall St, Brookline High St, Brookline Shailer Street, Brookline Cambridge Street, Brighton

Areas Covered

Boston Brookline New Residential construction Condominium Conversions Luxury Condominiums Real Estate Investment