7 trends and milestones set to rock Boston-area real estate in 2018

You feel it? We’re in the home stretch of 2017. What will next year bring in terms of real estate, development, transportation, etc.? Let’s take a look.

Would you live in a co-living complex in the Boston area?

It’s a simple enough question, but the shift to coliving in urban areas such as the Boston region could prove to be a monumental shift in real estate. It’s the sharing economy, but for who gets to change the channel on the TV.

Cambridge corner penthouse across from Lechmere Station asking $1.8M

The 1,617-square-foot Penthouse H625 at 20 Second Street is right across from the current Lechmere Station—current because it’s due to be relocated as part of the epic Green Line extension and the existing hub transformed into greenspace and maybe a public market.

Big reveal: An East Boston house with the potential to expand

Some 32 percent of Curbed Boston readers guessed the correct asking price for this three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath house in the Eagle Hill-Orient Heights borderlands of Eastie.

The 5 Boston neighborhoods where prices have increased the most since 2012

Bay Village home prices increased more than in any other Boston neighborhood in the first three quarters of 2017 compared with the same time in 2012, according to a new analysis of closed deals.

Boston apartment rents at the end of fall: Big jumps in West Roxbury and Mattapan

Meanwhile, the West End saw the biggest decline, according to a new report. In general, the median one-bedroom rent in Boston was $2,200 a month as of the fall and the two-bedroom median was $2,610.

‘Millennial resort’ proposed for South End’s Ink Block

A 14-story co-living building would create what one of its developers calls a "millennial resort" complete with micro-apartments and a suite of services that includes organized social activities.

Harvard Square’s Curious George store to stay open under apparent long-term deal

The retailer—the only one of its kind in the world—is staying in the area under what’s apparently a long-term lease. It had appeared doomed under redevelopment plans for its building at John F. Kennedy and Brattle streets.

Fenway Center could start construction before 2018

The work would cap ages of planning and changes. Lead developer John Rosenthal has been trying to build at the 4.5-acre site for nearly 20 years.

Tap and go: T moving toward London model as part of massive fare-collection overhaul

The MBTA plans to switch to an all-electronic fare-collection system by 2020. The move will mean big changes for riders, including the end of paying cash on-board.

Seaport District development to add hundreds of hotel rooms, apartments

The buildings will each be 12 stories and will be built on raised platforms, which will make room for as many as 450 parking spaces underneath. The project will also include nearly 20,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

How much for an East Boston house with the potential to expand?

This standalone spread includes the potential to expand into the attic and the basement; and the kitchen and the half-bath were recently renovated. Take a look around and try to guess the price.

• From Curbed

6 futuristic smart cities under development

Tech titans have caught utopia fever. Here’s a breakdown of who’s doing what.

Big reveal: A Cambridge two-bedroom with a private yard and central A/C

Only 16 percent of Curbed Boston readers nailed the correct asking for this 942-square-foot two-bedroom in Cambridge’s Huron Village. More PriceSpotter results this way ...

Boston’s Uptown? Developers gin up new West End name to boost major project

The forces behind the 1.87 million-square-foot Hub on Causeway around TD Garden want people to think of the area as "Uptown." Will it stick? About as well as "Midtown" maybe.

Construction on Green Line extension could start before end of 2017

The MBTA on November 17 is expected to pick a company to oversee the design and construction of the 4.7-mile extension through Somerville into Medford. With the contract awarded, construction could start before the end of 2017.

What’s the best part of a Boston winter?

Perhaps it’s the sheer aesthetic beauty of it sometimes. Or the heartiness it breeds in its residents. Or the demand it makes on those same residents to stay indoors and take in the beauty within rather than without. Sound off.

Back Bay Station towers get major green light

The Boston Planning and Development Agency has signed off on developer Boston Properties’ plans to build 1.26 million square feet of housing, offices, and retail over and around the transit hub.

Lincoln Arts-and-Crafts includes Japanese garden and 1.4 acres for development

Should a buyer leave that stretch vacant, though, the existing house and its grounds are plenty. There is a large chef’s kitchen and the potential for five bedrooms. Plenty of windows about, too.

See a timelapse of construction on the six-building Bulfinch Crossing in downtown Boston

It shows work around a portion of the Government Center Garage along Sudbury Street that was demolished to make way for the project’s first residential tower.

10 Boston homes with fireplaces asking under $500,000

It is possible to find a home in Boston proper with an actual wood-burning (read: non-decorative) fireplace for under $500K—something to think about when plowing through another cold, dreary winter.

Central Square’s Mass + Main on its way to altering the Cambridge skyline

Construction has started on the three-building project, which will include 306 apartments. One of those buildings will run to 19 stories and 195 feet, placing it among the tallest in Cambridge.

Most Hubway stations to stay open all winter

A majority of Cambridge kiosks had already been doing so for the past few years. Now most stations in Boston, Brookline, and Somerville will join them.

JP Colonial Revival comes with four decks facing the Arnold Arboretum

The nine-room 360 Arborway sits atop a small hill. And from that perch, including via four decks, the house offers views of the neighboring arboretum. All yours for $2.2M-plus.

Gloves come off in Cambridge bike-lane battle

Residents and business owners upset over the city’s recent installation of protected routes in the Harvard Square area have vowed to take over citywide transportation planning via a grassroots movement.

Union Square notches another change near future Green Line stop

The relocation of comedy club the Comedy Studio to Union Square from Cambridge’s Harvard Square represents the latest harbinger of big change in that area of Somerville.

Beacon Hill one-bedroom with two fireplaces drops for $3.15M

Unit 2 at 34.5 Beacon Street might very well be the most expensive one-bedroom on the Boston market right now—perhaps the most expensive in a long, long time. Don’t worry: It’s ‘easily convertible’ to a two-bedroom.

7 vacant Boston parcels for sale for cheaper than an inexpensive home

Given the seemingly ceaseless astronomical cost of housing in Boston—homes for no more than $200,000 are far and few between, even regionally, for instance—perhaps it’s just time to buy a plot of land?

Boston is one of the three front-runners to land Amazon’s second HQ, a new analysis says

The city is a particularly good fit culturally and fiscally for the e-retailer, according to an analysis from the Wall Street Journal and research consultancy Green Street Advisors.

5 spectacular renovated Boston-area homes for sale right now

The region is rife with gobsmacking listings of late, few more memorable than those properties born from recent renovations.Here are five in particular worth checking out.

This Colonial Revival in Winchester was cobbled together from an old shoe factory

The 10-room 4 Fairview Terrace dates from the early 1830s. About 60 years later, the converted factory was moved from Winchester’s Main Street to its present location a few hundred feet to the east.