China's Ripple Effect

As its markets slide, its economy weakens, and its currency declines, many wonder if Boston’s real estate market will suffer -- but short-term,it may gain

By Tim Logan
GLOBE STAFF

With money from their country’s booming economy and seemingly unstoppable stock market, wealthy Chinese and corporate investors have spent some of their profits halfway around the world, buying into Boston’s red-hot real estate market. But after days of sharp declines on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, a currency devaluation by finance ministers in Beijing, and growing concern about a broad slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy, there are big questions about how much longer that money will keep coming.

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T uncertainty shakes developers, buyers

Many count on Green Line expansion to boost values

By Dan Adams
GLOBE CORRESPONDENT

The $5 million listing for a rundown strip mall on Broadway boasts of the Somerville property’s redevelopment potential because of its proximity to a planned Green Line station. The Green Line is also a bragging point for the builders of a 30-unit condo building -- some priced as high as $750,000 -- on Washington Street near Union Square, its sales pitch concluding: "It’s not just a home, it’s an investment!" Around the corner, a nervous first-time home buyer rationalized buying a condo just above his price range as a “responsible decision” because the coming Green Line would boost its value.

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